UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


1 


w 


Vol.  VI.,  Part  I.  1910  Series  II. 


TRANSACTIONS 


PROCEEDINGS 


Qtt\?  (fengrajiijtral  Variety 
of  %  f  ariftr 


CONTENTS 

THE  ORIGIN   AND  MEANING   OF  THE 
NAME  CALIFORNIA 

CALAFIA  THE   QUEEN   OF  THE   ISLAND  OF  CALIFORNIA 
Tli'  to  Xon-Memhers  Si.uu 


Pri. 


Authors    are   alone    responsible    for    their    respective    statements.      In    MS.  communications,  all  new  or 
unfamiliar  geographical  names  should  be  written  in  imitation  of  Roman  Type. 


inj     >« 


The  Origin  and  the  Meaning  of  the 
Name  California 


Calafia  the  Queen  of  the  Island  of  California 
Title  Page  of  Las  Sergas 


GEORGE  DAVIDSON,  Ph.D.,  Sc.D.,   LL.D. 

President  Geographical  Society  of  the  Pacific 


Transactions  and  Proceedings  of  the  Geographical  Society 
of  the   Pacific 


Volume  VI,  Part  I;  Series  II. 
1910 


(Brnnraplriral  ^acfeie  of  tljr  ^ariftr 


OFFICIAL     DEPOSITORY     ON     THE     PACIFIC     COAST 

FOR    ALL    CHARTS    ISSUED    BY    THE 
U.     S.     GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY,     WASHINGTON,     O.    C. 


ORGANIZED    MARCH     I,      1831 
INCORPORATED    JANUARY    OTH,      1892. 


OFFICERS 

president: 
PROFESSOR  GEORGE  DAVIDSON,   Ph.D.,  Sc.D.,  LL.D. 
(University  of  California) 

vice-president: 
HON.  RALPH  C.   HARRISON. 


directors: 


PROF.  GEO.  DAVIDSON, 
HARRY  DURBROW, 


JOHN  PARTRIDGE, 
HENRY  LUND. 


treasurer: 
HARRY  DURBROW. 

FOREIGN    CORRESPONDING    SECRETARY: 

HENRY  LUND. 
(Consul  for  Sweden  and  Norway) 

HOME    CORRESPONDING    SECRETARY: 

E.  J.  MOLERA. 

RECORDING    SECRETARY: 

JOHN  PARTRIDGE. 


COUNCIL 


HENRY  J.  CROCKER, 
HON.  RALPH   C.  HARRISON, 
WILLIAM    HOOD,  C.  E., 
C.  FREDERICK   KOHL, 


EUSEBIO  J.  MOLERA, 
HON.  GEO.  C.  PERKINS, 

(U.  S.  Senate) 
HON.  A.  P.  WILLIAMS. 


The  Origin  and  the  Meaning  of  the 
Name  California. 


Calafia  the  Queen  of  the  Island  of  California. 
Title  Page  of  Las  Sergas. 


George  Davidson. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

1.  Introductory _.. 1 

2.  Application  of  the  name  California  from  Robert  Dudley, 

1630-47,  to  the  authorities  of  the  year  1903 3 

3.  Some  early  charts  upon  which  the  name  California  is 

found.    The  First  Vessel  with  the  name  California....  9 

4-     Early  Spanish  mention  of  the  name  California  in  Narra- 
tives and  Documents - 17 

5.  The  first  mention  of  the  origin  of  the  name  California  in 

recent  years - 21 

6.  The  Causes  which  gave  rise  to  the  Romances - 23 

7.  The  Historian  Ticknor's  estimate  of  the  Romance  of  Ama- 

dis  de  Gaula 25 

8.  Bemal  Diaz,  one  of  the  Conquistador es  and  Historian  of 

the  Exploits  of  Cortes,  had  read  the  Amadis  de  Gaula  27 

9.  The  Mythical  Amazons,  the  Griffins  and  the  Terrestrial 

Paradise —  28 

10.  The  Griffins  of  the  Romances 3 1 

11.  The  Terrestrial  Paradise - 32 

12.  The  Origin  and  the  meaning  of  the  names  California,  Ca- 

lafia, and    the  associated  names  in   Las  Sergas  de 
Esplandian - - 33 

13.  Translations  from  Las  Sergas  concerning  the  Island  of 

California  and  Calafia,  the  Queen  thereof 35 

14.  Brief  Notice  of  Bemal  Diaz  and  his  History  of  the  Con- 

quest of  Mexico -__ .- -- 46 


INTRODUCTORY. 


Before  the  acquisition  of  California  from  Mexico,  1848,  there  had 
been  several  attempts  to  declare  the  origin  and  the  meaning  of  the 
name  California,  and  in  subsequent  years  the  subject  was  revived. 
The  proposed  solutions  indicate  that  the  matter  has  not  been  so 
fully  or  so  clearly  presented  to  our  people  as  it  might  be;  and  there- 
fore we  have  undertaken  the  task  of  tracing  the  history  of  the  name, 
and  have  ventured  to  give  a  meaning  to  this  and  associated  names. 

For  this  purpose  we  present  such  of  the  modern  explanations  as 
we  have  access  to,  from  Robert  Dudley,  1630-47,  to  authorities  as 
late  as  1903. 

We  exhibit  the  use  of  the  name  in  early  charts  and  in  early  Span- 
ish documents  and  narratives  to  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  first  recent  historian  to  point  to  the  source  of  the  name  was 
George  Ticknor,  in  his  "History  of  Spanish  Literature". 

His  mention  of  the  source  carries  us  beyond  the  time  of  the  Con- 
quistadores  of  Mexico,  and  suggests  they  were  readers  of  the  Ro- 
mances of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries. 

This  necessarily  causes  us  to  remark  upon  the  origin,  object,  and 
character  of  those  Romances;  and  upon  the  machinery  which  their 
authors  employed. 

Even  when  the  name  California  is  traced  to  its  first  appearance  in 
the  "Exploits  of  Esplandian,"  there  is  no  explanation  offered  about 
its  origin ;  but  from  the  statement  of  the  nominal  author  that  this 
Romance  was  originally  written  in  Greek,  we  suggest  a  solution. 

At  the  close  we  present  a  free  translation  of  parts  of  the  text  where- 


2  THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    NAME    CALIFORNIA. 

ill   ''LA    MUY    ESFORZADA    REINA    CALAFIA,  SeXORA    DE    LA    GRAN  ISLA 

California,"  plays  a  spectacular  role  in  assisting  the  Turks  in  their 
attempt  to  conquer  Constantinople  from  the  Christians,  with 
her  hosts  of  Amazons,  her  fleets  and  her  griffins. 

We  have  descriptions  of  their  island  home  which  abounded  in 
gold  and  precious  stones,  the  character  of  the  Amazons,  their  man- 
ners and  customs,  their  war  trappings  and  their  animals. 

We  briefly  relate  the  personal  encounters  of  the  queen  Calafia 
with  the  Christian  knights,  her  being  eventually  overmatched,  the 
fury  of  her  lionhearted  sister  Liota,  and  finally  the  marriage  of 
both  to  Christian  knights. 

All  these  creations  of  the  romancer  conspired  to  inflame  the 
younger  Spanish  nobles  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors  and  Jews 
from  Spain,  when  there  were  no  more  provinces  to  conquer  unless 
Columbus  should  discover  a  western  route  to  India. 


APPLICATION  OF  THE  NAME  CALIFORNIA  FROM    DUD- 
LEY TO  THE  AUTHORITIES  OF  THE 
YEAR  1903. 

Robert  Dudley  in  his  "Area no  del  Mare"  ^describes, 
in  volume  III,  the  chart  XXXIII  entitled  "II  Mare  d'America 
Occidentale";  and  in  speaking  of  the  galleons  from  the  Philippines 
making  the  northwest  coast  of  America,  says  that  little  faith  is 
placed  on  the  accuracy  of  location  of  the  ports  on  account  of  the  no- 
table differences  of  distances  on  the  more  common  charts  which 
make  for  example  the  distance  between  California  and  Cape  San 
Lucas  twelve  hundred  English  leagues  [che  fanno  la  distanzafra  la 
California,  e'l  capo  s.  Lucar  leghe  1200  Inglese],  instead  of  six  hun- 
dred. 

The  last  paragraph  of  the  volume  is:  "The  Vermilion  Sea  begins 
"at  the  Cape  Santa  Clara  of  California  [capo  santa  Clara  della 
"California],  as  shown  elsewhere,  and  passes  by  the  island  which  is 
"named  de'Giganti,  and  is  in  the  Northern  Sea,  in  43°  of  latitude, 
"through  the  kingdom  of  Coromedo;  and  this  determines  that 
"California  may  be  an  island  off  Western  America  and  not  terra 
"firma  as  [Giovanni]  Jansonio  states  on  his  chart.  With  this  state- 
"ment  is  ended  the  sixth  and  last  volume.     II  fino."f 

In  Father  Bisselius'  work  he  first  mentions  California  on  page 
400, %  where  heproposesto  name  all  the  regions  of  the  eastern  and 
northern  part  of  North  America  with  the  western  kingdoms  of 
Quivira  and  Tolmum,  Estotilandia,  and  then  turning  to  the  south, 
on  the  west  coast,  he  begins  with  California.  Page  400 ;  337  old.  *** 
"The  kingdoms  and  regions  better  known  to  our  navigation  are 
"these:  those  which  lie  on  the  south  sea,  Zurium,  in  an  oblique  di- 
rection from  the  west;  in  these  after  Quivira  and  the  lands  of  the 
"Tolmi,  in  the  same  extent  of  coast,  the  regions  of  California  are 


*Dell  Arcano  Del  Mare,  di  Rvberto  Dvdleo  Dvca  di  Northvmbria  *  *  *  in  Firenze 
*   *  *     Royal  Folio.  3  Vols.,  1630,  1646,  1647.     With  charts,  etc. 

•(■Identification  of  Sir  Francis  Drake's  anchorage  on  the  Coast  of  California.  *  *  *     Davidson 
*  *  *  California  Historical  Society,  1890:     Page  50  n. 

f'Joannis  Bisselii  e  Societate  Iesu  Argonauticon  Americanorum  sive  Historian  periculorum 
Petri  de  Victoria  ac  sociorum  eius."     Libri  XV.,  M.  DC  XLVII. 

There  were  two  editions.  The  one  we  have  quoted  is  the  larger,  486  pages  and  12  of  in- 
dex with  small  map;  the  older  one  has  405  pages  and  17  pages  of  index:  San  Francisco  Free 
Public  Library.     [Destroyed  in  the  fire  of  1906.] 


4  THE    ORIGIN     OF    THE     NAME     CALIFORNIA. 

"stretched  out  on  the  sea  toward  the  east,  (orientem  versus).  The 
"back  of  this  land  is  shut  in  by  mountains  from  which  flows  into  the 
"ocean  the  river  Farrell6nes.  The  sides  are  surrounded  by  waters 
"in  the  manner  of  arms.  On  the  right  indeed,  which  looks  toward 
"the  south,  the  South  Sea;  on  the  left  however,  toward  the  north,  it  is 
"bordered  by  a  certain  gulf  running  transversely  up  beyond  the 
"middle  of  the  length  of  California.  Some  call  this  the  Vermilion 
"Sea."    ***  Page  401;  338  old. 

On  page  402  Bisselius  alludes  to  the  numberless  streams  that 
plunge  into  the  Pacific  from  the  coast  range  of  mountains,  begin- 
ning at  the  mouth  of  the  [gulf  of]  California,  to  Nicaragua.  And 
further  he  refers  to  the  Gulf  of  California  (Califomiani  Sinus)  and 
the  uninhabited  islands  (Desertas  Insulas),  as  they  are  called. 
Page  402;  339  old. 

Where  is  the  river  'Farrellones'  of  Bisselius  ?  It  may  be  the  Colo- 
rado, but  very  likely  the  Rio  Grande  de  Santiago,  which  breaks 
through  the  coast  range  of  mountains,  drains  the  lake  Chapala  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  southeast,  and  in  its  course  receives 
four  or  five  large  tributaries  from  the  northeast  and  north.  It 
comes  upon  the  coast  at  San  Bias  in  latitude  21°  32' ,  longitude  105° 
in.  Directly  off  this  small  port  lie  the  Tres  Marias,  at  a  distance  of 
sixty  nautical  miles,  and  they  rise  from  1350  to  2020  feet  above  the 
sea.  They  are  quite  large,  and  stretch  through  twenty-five  miles  on 
a  northwest  course.     They  are  covered  with  cedar. 

George  Horn,  in  his  work  on  the  origin  of  the  people  of  America, 
undertook  to  trace  the  origin  and  migration  of  peoples  by  similarity 
of  words;  and  writing  of  Corea  thus  curtly  refers  to  the  derivation  of 
the  name  California  from  the  name  of  the  Coreans:  "Hi  Coreani 
"primo  in  Californiam  venerunt;  quae  nomen  suum  a  Caoli  habet." 
Page  243,  chapter  VI. 

On  page  266  he  says  the  Mexicans  did  not  come  from  the  east 
through  I"  land,  Greenland  and  New  France,  asHugo  wished;  but 
from  the  west  and  Coro  through  California  and  New  Mexico.*    He 
-.tions  the  name-  in  two  other  places. 


I.ibri   Qvatvor.      Hagae    Comitis.       Sumptibus 

Another  edition.  Hemipoli,  Sumptibus  Joannis  Mullcri  Bibl,    lWi9.     Of  these  two  editions,  one 

Both  have  same  date  of  dedication,  HS52.    San  Fran- 
.<<]  in  the  fire  of  1906] 


TESTIMONY  OF  BAEGERT  AND  VENEGAS.  5 

Father  Baegert,  S.  J.,  spent  sixteen  years  in  Lower  California, 
1751-1767,  was  a  man  of  philological  tastes,  a  thorough  linguist  and 
made  a  study  of  the  language  of  the  Waicuri  dialect.  He  is  certain 
the  name  is  not  of  Indian  origin.  He  cites  the  explanation  of  the 
calida  fornax,  but  does  not  vouch  for  its  correctnes,  although  he 
acknowledges  the  healthfulness  of  the  climate. 

Rev.  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale  quotes  the  learned  Jesuit  D. 
Giuseppe  Compoi  who  believed  the  word  California  was  composed  of 
the  Spanish  word'cala',  alittlecove  or  bay,  and  the  Latin  word 'for- 
nix', meaning  the  vault  of  a  building,  [also  the  vaulted  opening  from 
which  sallies  are  made.]  He  applies  this  to  the  bay  under  Cape  San 
Lucas,  where  an  arch  is  seen  under  a  rock  at  the  western  part,  and 
that  this  arch  is  as  perfect  as  if  constructed  by  art.  And  that  Cort6s 
thereupon  applied  the  name  California  to  it.  We  have  seen  this 
arch  from  the  anchorage,  and  it  is  shown  in  the  volume  published  by 
the  Hydrographic  Office  at  Washington  in  1880;*  it  does  not  agree 
with  the  good  father's  account. 

Furthermore,  we  have  no  proof  whatever,  that  Cortes  ever  sailed 
so  far  west  as  Cape  San  Lucas:  he  remained  in  the  region  northeast 
of  San  Jose  del  Cabo. 

The  History  of  California  was  written  in  1757  by  the  Mexican 
Jesuit  Father  Miguel  Venegas  and  afterward  translated  into  En- 
glish in  1759,  and  from  the  latter  translated  into  French  in  1767. 
He  says  that  "until  lately  it  was  very  imperfectly  known  that  it 
[California]  had  been  first  considered  a  peninsula, then  an  island"; 
and  finally  he  gives  credit  to  Father  Kino  [Chino]  for  proving  that  it 
was  a  peninsula  [1698-1702.]  He  evidently  overlooked  the  exam- 
inations of  Francisco  de  Ulloa  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  earlier. 

He  writes  that  "the  name  Islas  Carolinas  was  given  to  this  country 
"in  honor  of  Carolus  II  of  Spain,  [1665-1700],  when,  by  his  order, 
"the  conquest  of  California,  then  thought  to  be  an  island,  and  the 
"others  adjacent,  was  undertaken  with  a  force  equal  to  the  enter- 
prise." He  then  mentions  that  this  name  was  used  in  many  maps, 
and  adds: 

"The  name  by  which  the  country  is  at  present  known,  is  that  of 
"California,  an  appellation  given  to  it  at  its  first  discovery.  Some 
"use  the  name  in  the  plural  number,  calling  it  the  Californias." 

*The  West  Coast  op  Mexico  *  *  *     No.  56.     See  sketch  opposite  page  46. 


6  THE    ORIGIN   OF   THE    NAME   CALIFORNIA. 

He  wishes  he  could  give  the  origin  and  etymology  of  the  name; 
but  none  of  the  Missionaries  have  found  any  trace  of  such  a  name 
being  given  to  the  country,  or  harbor,  bay,  etc. 

He  cannot  subscribe  to  the  name  being  derived  from  the  two 
Latin  words,  calida-fornax,ahot  furnace.  None  of  the  Conquista- 
dores  used  such  a  mode  of  naming  their  conquests.  He  thinks  it 
was  possibly  derived  from  some  words  spoken  by  the  Indians  and 
misunderstood  by  the  Spaniards,  and  gives  examples  of  such  mis- 
takes.    There  he  leaves  the  matte  r. 

Captain  Burney,  in  writing  of  the  voyage  of  Cortes  to  the  penin- 
sula of  California,  says:     "In  what  manner  this  country  came  to  be 
distinguished  by  the  name  California  is  left  uncertain.     It  is  not 
'believed  that  the  name  was  derived  from  the  natives;  as  the  mis- 
'sionaries  who  have  since  resided  among  the  Calif ornians,  have  not 
'at  any  time  heard  of  such  being  applied  to  any  port,  bay,  or  part 
'of  the  country.     Some  have  conjectured  that  on  account  of  the 
'heat  of  the  weather,  Cortes  formed  the  name  California,  from  the 
'Latin  words  calida  and  fornax.     But  we  are  not  told  that  there 
'was  greater  heat  of  weather  in  the  peninsula,  than  on  the  opposite 
'coast  of  New  Spain;  and  it  has  been  remarked,  that  no  other  of  the 
'names    given   by  Cortes,  were  immediately  from  the  Latin  lan- 
'guage."* 
Then  he  refers  to  Bernal  Diaz,  whom  we  quote  elsewhere. 
Captain  Beechey,  on  his  visit  to  the  Mission  of  San  Juan,Novem- 
1)'  r  1826,  recounts  his  conversations  with  Father  Arroyo,  and  gives 
the  good  padre's  explanation  of  the  etymology  of  the  name  of  the 
nsula  of   California. f     "I   shall  observe  first,    [says  Beechey] 
"t  hat  it  was  never  known  why  Cortds  gave  to  the  bay  which  he  first 
"discovered,  a  name  which  appears  to  be  composed  of  two  Latin 
rds   <  alida  and  fornax,  signifying  heat  and  furnace,  and  which 
ards  transferred  to  the  peninsula."     He  then  refers  to 
and  to  Burney  whom  we  have  just  quoted.     He  continue  s: 
"It   was  thought   in   Monterey  to  have  arisen  in  consequence  of  a 
which  pnvails  throughout  California,  of  the  Indians  shut- 
ting themselves  in  ovens  until  they  perspire  profusely,  as  I  have 


South  Sea  or  Pacific  Ocean, 
Royal  Navy,  1803.     Four  volumes,  Quarto,  Vol.  I. 

[NO'S  Strait.    *  *  *  by  Captain  F. 
on    1831.     Vol.  II.  page  55. 


VARIOUS     ETYMOLOGICAL    HYPOTHESES  i 

"already  described  in  speaking  of  the  Temeschal.  It  is  not  im- 
probable that  the  practice  appeared  so  singular  to  CortCs  that  he 
"applied  the  name  of  California  to  the  country,  as  being  one  in 
"which  hot  ovens  were  used  for  such  singular  purposes.  Padre  Ar- 
"royo,  however,  maintained  that  it  was  a  corruption  of  colofon,  which, 
"in  the  Spanish  language,  signifies  resin,  in  consequence  of  the  pine 
"trees  which  yield  that  material  being  so  numerous.  The  first  set- 
"tlers,  he  said,  at  the  sight  of  these  trees  would  naturally  exclaim, 
"Colofon,  which  by  its  similarity  to  Californo,  (in  the  Catalonian 
"dialect,  hot  oven) ,  a  more  familiar  expression,  would  soon  become 
"changed." 

In  1878,  Professor  Jules  Marcou  made  a  report  to  the  Chief  of 
Engineers,  Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  A.,  entitled  "Notes  upon  the 
First  Discoveries  of  California,  and  the  Origin  of  its  Name."  Later 
he  published  it  in  pamphlet  form.  * 

In  this  report  he  writes:  "Cortes  and  his  companions,  struck  with 
"the  difference  between  the  dry  and  burning  heat  they  experienced, 
"compared  with  the  moist  and  much  less  oppressive  heat  of  the 
"Mexican  tierra  caliente,  first  gave  to  a  bay,  and  afterwards  ex- 
pended to  the  entire  country,  the  name  of  tierra  California,  de- 
"rived  from  calida  fornax,  which  signifies  fiery  furnace,  or  hot  as  an 
"oven.  *  *  *  The  author  who  first  employed  the  name  of  California 
"was  Bernardo  Diazof  Castillo, who  says  that  Cortes  gave  the  name." 

H.  H.  Bancroft  in  his  History  of  Californiaf  says  that  the  Cali- 
fornians  of  1846,  Vallejo,and  Alvarado  agree  that  the  name  came 
from  the  words  kali  forno,  upon  authority  from  Baja  California;  and 
meant  either  a  "high  hill"  or  "native  land."  It  looks  very  much 
like  the  Kal-i-forno,  to  be  mentioned. 

He  furthermore  adds  that  E.  D.  Guilbert  of  Copala,  Sinaloa,  in- 
formed him  in  1878  that  an  old  Indian  of  his  locality  called  the  pen- 
insula Tchalifalni-al,  "the  sandy  land  beyond  the  water."  Thos.  E. 
Slevin,  L.L.D.,  (one  of  the  Councillors  of  the  Geographical  Society  of 
the  Pacific), has  suggested  this  was  not  an  Indian  word, but  the  In- 
dian pronunciation  of  the  Spanish  word  California.  This  is  a  highly 
probable  explanation. 

In  his  History  of  California,  Theo.  H.  Hittell  commences  by  saying: 
"The  first  account  of  California  that  is  found  in  old  records,  repre- 

*The  first  publication  was  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Chief  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army, 
in  1876.  - 

tVolume  I,  page  66  n,  1885. 


S  THE    ORIGIN    OP    THE     NAME     CALIFORNIA. 

"sented  it  as  an  island,  rich  in  pearls  and  gold.  It  was  said  to  lie  at 
"a  distance  of  ten  days'  journey  from  the  Province  of  Ciguatan,  and 
"to  be  inhabited  by  women  only.*  *  *  Such  was  the  strange 
"story  brought  to  Mexico  from  Colima  by  Gonzalo  de  Sandoval, 
'and  transmitted  by  Cortes  to  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  in  the  latter 
"part  of  the  year  1524."  He  adds  in  a  footnote:  "The  account  is 
"  contained  in  the  Carta  Quarta  de  Relacion,  dated  October  15, 
"1524."* 

Later  he  refers  to  the  hypotheses  of  "caliente"  and  "fornalla"; 
and  the  sweat-houses  of  the  Indians.  He  quotes  from  Bernal  Diaz, 
and  especially  refers  to  the  expression  "y  entonces  toparon  con  la 
California,  que  es  una  baia,"  and  suggests  that  the  word  'baia'  is  a 
misprint  for  'isla' ;  but  is  satisfied  that  Cortes  intended  it  to  cover  the 
entire  country.     Page  53. 

A  late  writer, "M.  L."of  Fresno,  who  appears  to  be  well  posted  on 
the  subject,  and  who  has  evidently  examined  the  geology  of  Lower 
California,  expresses  the  opinion  that  the  name  came  from  the 
Indians.  In  approaching Loreto  (on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  penin- 
sula in  latitude  26°  10')  he  saw  snow  white  heaps  upon  a  knoll,  and 
asked  the  guide  "Que  cosa  es?"  "Cal  y  forno"  answered  the  In- 
dian; when  he  knew  at  once  he  had  the  true  meaning  and  origin  of 
the  name  California,  because  these  white  heaps  were  lime  kilns;  'cal' 
meaning  lime,  and  'forno' an  oven  or  kiln.  He  believed  that  Ulloa, 
remembering  Montalvo's  California,  accepted  the  name  for  the 
country. t 

We  find  no  proof  that  the  Indians  of  Lower  California  built  houses 
of  stone  and  mortar,  although  Diaz  says  the  great  edifices  of  the  City 
of  Montezuma  were  constructed  of  cal  y  canto,  stone  and  mortar. 

A  recent  writerin  the  "Booklover",  1903,  says  the  true  meaning 
of  the  word  California  has  never,  to  his  knowledge,  been  made 
public  in  America,  although  he  refers  to  the  "Century  Dictionary  of 
Names"  (1901)  conjuring  an  "old  yarn"  about  the  Esplandian,  etc. 
He  derives  iifromthe  Arabic  wordKalifat,  a  province,  which  he  chang- 
>  .vi  Arabic  -Espafiol  compound  Kalif on, a  great  province.  Fi- 
nally he  declares  the  form  became  Kalif-ornia.  He  does  not  be- 
lieve any  one  in  the  United  States  has  seen  the  original"Las  Sergas." 

Thes-  specimens  of  guessing  indicate  that  it  is  time  the  origin  be 
made  known,  so  far  as  usage  in  Romances,  Documents,  Narratives, 
and  Charts  furnish  evidence. 


1  ai.icohnm  ire  H.  Hittell    !S'.)7.  Vol    I,p:ine37 

Chronicle,  June,  L893;  Nkw  York  Herald,  June,  1895. 


SOME  EARLY  CHARTS  ON  WHICH  THE  NAME  CALIFORNIA 

IS  FOUND. 

1541. — There  was  published  in  1770  in  Mexico  in  the  "Historiade 
Nueva  Espana"  by  Francisco  Antonio  Lorenzana, between  pages 328- 
329,  amapbearingthe  name  of  the  pilot  Domingo  del  Castillo.asmaker, 
with  inscription  as  follows:  "Domingo  del  Castillo,  Piloto me  fecit 
en  Mexico  ano  del  Nacimiento  de  N.  S.  Jesu  Christo  de  M.D.XLI." 
This  history  is  a  reprint  of  the  Cortes  letters  and  the  map  given  em- 
braced the  shores  and  islands  of  the  Sea  of  Cortes  as  examined  by 
Ulloa,  laying  down  the  lower  end  of  the  peninsula  and  the  western 
coast  of  lower  California  as  far  north  as  Ulloa  had  reached  in  1539, 
that  is,  Cape  Engano  north  of  the  Island  of  Cerros  or  Cedros,  in 
latitude  29°  56 '.  At  that  cape  Ulloa  was  baffled  by  the  strong 
northwesterly  winds  and  returned  to  New  Spain. 

Upon  this  map  the  name  California  is  placed  at  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  peninsula.  While  we  have  no  proof  that  this  name 
was  upon  the  original  chart  and  not  added  by  Lorenzana  in  his  edit- 
ing, it  seems  highly  probable  that  it  was  placed  there  by  Castillo.  If 
so,  it  is  the  first  use  of  the  name  California  upon  a  chart  as  far  as  my 
knowledge  goes. 

1542. — Spanish  names  had  found  place  on  the  Map  of  the  World 
by  Alonzo  de  Santa  Cruz  that  indicated  a  familiarity  with  the  earlier 
expeditions  of  the  Viceroy  Cortes,  and  the  galleons.  Mr.  E.  W. 
Dahlgren,  in  describing  the  map  just  mentioned,  writes:  "On  the 
"west  coast  of  Mexico,  we  see  two  remarkable  inscriptions,  Califor- 
nia is  called  'the  island  discovered  by  Marquis  del  Valle;'  page  26, 
"  [la.  que  descubrio  el  Marques  del  Valle;  page  47],  and  the  coast 
"north  of  this  point  is  called  'the  land  to  which  Don  Antonio  de 
"Mendoza  sent  out  an  exploring  expedition'  ,  page  26;  [tierra  que 
"enbio  a  descubrir  don  Antonio  de  Mendoza,  page  47].  Thus  we 
"have  the  two  latest  geographical  dates  which  have  been  given  a 
"place  on  the  map.  Hernando  Cortes,  being  appointed  'Marques 
"del  Valle  de  Oaxaca'  in  1529,  took  formal  possession  of  the  Cali- 
fornia peninsula  on  the  3rd  of  May,  1535,  although  the  news  did  not 
"reach  Spain  until  after  1537,  when  Cortes  returned  to  Acapulco." 
*  *  *  page  26. 

"On  Santa  Cruz's  map  there  is  no  distinct  coast-line  north  of  Cali- 
fornia."  *  *  *  page  27. 


1(1  THE  ORIGIN     OP     THE     NAME     CALIFORNIA. 

"Thus  on  this  Map  of  the  World  we  find  no    Terra  Australis." 

'  <      Jjc      *     :•:     Ti;(cr,'    '27 .  * 

l.'ii ",.  -Herrera  has  a  crude  chart  of  part  of  the  west  coast  of 
Mexico,  and  northward  to  "C.  de  Fortun"  in  latitude  43°.  The  pen- 
insula is  named  California;  and  its  southern  extremity  lies  in  20°t 
"Description,"  page  2. 

We  date  this  chart  soon  after  1543  when  the  expedition  of 
Cabrillo  and  Ferrelo,  1542-43,  returned  to  New  Spain.  Cabrillo 
had  died  at  San  Miguel  Island,  in  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel, 
January  3rd  1543,  and  chief  pilot  Ferrelo  took  command  and  made 
another  attempt  to  follow  the  coast  beyond  Punta  de  Arena,  and 
saw  the  high  land  of  the  Cape  Mendocino  region.  He  probably 
made  King  Peak,  in  latitude  40°  00'  ,  4090  feet  above  the  sea  and 
only  ten  miles  inland.  On  account  of  a  great  storm  and  the 
dangers  he  encountered  in  this  vicinity  he  named  it  el  Cabo  de 
Fortunas.      This  peak  is  visible  seventy-three  miles  seaward.  J 

1559. — "The  Interior  of  New  Spain  "after  Mercator,  1559.**  On 
this  chart  off  the  southeast  point  of  the  peninsula  is  "Calfornia, 
alys  punta  de  vallenas. ' '  This  map  has  the  name  India  in  the  south- 
west part  of  New  Spain. 

1 570. — Prof.  Jules  Marcou,  in  his  "Notes  upon  the  First  Discovery 
of  California",  says:  "Abraham  Ortelius,  on  his  map  of  1570,  en- 
"titled  Americ a  sive  orbis  nova  descriptio,  wrote  at  the  point  indi- 
"cating  Cape  San  Lucas  the  name  C.  Call,  formia.  *   *   *     page  6. 

"The  same  geographer,  in  the  first  edition  of  his  atlas,  Thea- 
"trum  Orbis  Tcrrarum,  gives,  in  a  map  dated  1570,  and  entitled  Tar- 
io  sive  Magni  Chami  Regni,  California  as  a  peninsula  with  the 
"name  C.  Califormio."    *   *  *    ;  page  6. 

On  the  "Theatrum  Orbis  Terrarum,"  1570,  of  Ortelius  the  scale  is 
too  small  to  insert  these  names.     This  map  is  a  crude  attempt  of 
raphic  projection. 


Alonzo  de  Santa  Cruz,  1542.     Explanations  by  E.  W.  Dahlgren, 
18 

'  lies  de  Antonio  de   Herrera  Coronista  Mayor  de    Sv 

\!  Rey  \'ro.  Senor.     Madrid,  1730.     See  map 

0    i  this  or  a  similar  chart  that  Michael  Lok, 

de  Fortun  in  latitude  43",  and  thence  swung  thecoast 

•vith  the  m.  ig  it. 

IND  Explo  mi.  Northwest  Coast  of  America,       By 

126,  2  I',  and  chart. 

EXPEDITION     1540    12."  by  George  Parker  Winship  in  the  14th. 
i  .  i   Ethnology  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  1892-93;  Part  I. 


MAPS     OF     THE     SIXTEENTH     CENTURY  11 

1582. — C.  Calif orno.  On  the  queer  map  of  Michael  Lok  (the 
promulgator  of  the  Juan  de  Fuca  fiction) ,  the  extremity  of  the  pen- 
insula is  named  "C.  Californo."  It  was  published  by  Hakluyt  in 
1582,  but  may  have  been  drawn  earlier  because  it  notes  among 
others,  the  discoveries,  "Anglo rum  1580,"  meaning  those  of  the 
Cabots,  Frobisher  and  Drake.  There  is,  however,  no  mention  of 
Drake  nor  of  Nova  Albion.  The  Pacific  Coast  is  made  to  terminate 
about  latitude  44°,  and  thence  strikes  eastward  under  the  "Sierre 
Neuada,"  to  a  narrow  isthmus  in  latitude  40°,  just  north  of  the 
"Apal  chen"  mountains.     [Appalachian?]* 

1587. — Punctum  Calif orniae.  In  Hakluyt 's  edition  (Paris,  8vo. 
1587)  of  Peter  Martyr's  De  Orbe  Novo  there  is  a  map  of  the  At- 
lantic and  Pacific  Oceans,  extending  from  about  longitude  10°  east 
to  210°  west,  through  220°.  The  Pacific  Coast  is  carried  to  50° 
north  and  under  that  parallel  is  noted  "Nova  Albion,  Inuenta  An. 
1580,  ab  Anglis."  Cape  San  Lucas  is  named  "Punctum  Calif  or- 
niae."  The  map  as  shown  is  7%  inches  by  Q>%  inches,  was  presented 
to  Hakluyt  by  some  unknown  admirer,  and  is  dated  Paris,  Cal. 
Maij,  M.  D.  LXXXVII. 

1588-94. — Calif  ornoa.  This  is  the  spelling  upon  "The  Silver 
Mapof  the  World,"  which  is  assumed  to  be  "a  contemporary  medal- 
lion commemorative  of  Drake's  great  voyage  (1577-80),"  *  *  *  by 
Miller  Christy  *  *  *  Henry  Stevens,  Son  &  Stiles:  London, 
MDCCCC.  The  diameter  of  the  silver  medallion  is  2.76  inches; 
thickness  0.028  inch.  Mr.  Christy  assumes  the  medallion  to  have 
been  struck  in  1581.  We  have  shown  in  a  paper  yet  in  MS.  that 
the  Silver  Map  must  have  been  engraved  after  Drake's  voyage  of 
1585-86. 

1595. — On  the  Iodocus  Hondius  hemispherical  map  of  1595  (?) 
he   designates  the  peninsula  of  Lower  California  as  'California.' 
This  map  contains  reports  of  discoveries  to  1588. 

1596. — The  northern  half  of  De  Bry's  "America  Sive  Novus 
Orbis,  1596,"  has  the  peninsula  named  'California'.  See  reference 
to  Coronado's  Expedition,  by  Win  ship. 


*The  title  in  Mr.  Christy's  reduced  copy  is  "Illvstro  Viro,  Domino  Phillipo  Sidnaso,     Mi- 
chael Lok  Civis  Londinensis  Hanc  Chartam  Dedicabat:      1582." 


12  THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE     NAME    CALIFORNIA. 

1597. — "Wytfliet's  New  Granada  and  California,  1597,"  in  the 
Coronado  Expedition.  The  title  of  the  map  is  'Granata  nova  et 
California';  and  at  the  end  of  the  peninsula  is  'C.  de  California,'  and 
between  it  and  the  main  coast  'Californiae  Sinus',  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia. 

1602-3. — On  the  chart  of  the  reconnaissance  of  the  northwest 
coast  by  Sebastian  Vizcaino,  drawn  up  from  his  thirty-two  sub- 
charts  by  the  officers  of  the  Sutil  y  Mexicana  in  1792-1802,  the 
name  "Californias"  stretches  through  parts  of  Upper  and  Lower 
California. 

1618-1627.— The  Hondius  Map  of  the  World  [Iodocus;  Henricus] 
is  quite  large;  each  hemisphere  is  four  feet  in  diameter.  On 
the  peninsula  is  the  name  California;  at  the  extremity  is  C.  de  Cali- 
fornia. The  title  of  this  map  is  "Novissima  ac  Exactissima  Totius 
Orbis  Terrarum  Descriptio  Magna",  etc.,  Amsterdam,  1618;  but  it 
took  Hondius,  Junior,  nine  years  to  finish  it.  He  does  not  use  any 
of  Vizcaino's  names.  The  copy  we  have  consulted  belongs  to  Cap- 
tain Gustave  Niebaum  of  San  Francisco.  [Destroyed  in  the  Con- 
flagration of  April  18-20,  1900.] 

1030-1646. — We  have  photographs  of  a  series  of  large  charts 
from  the  Imperial  Museum  at  Munchen  which  must  antedate  Dud- 
ley's Arcano  del  Mare  of  1630,  '46,  '47.  On  one  is  the  "Callifornia 
R."[egnum],  and  the  "G.  della  Callifornia"; on  another  "P.  della 
Callifornia"  on  the  north  side  of  the  "R.  botta  Callifornia,"  with  an 
i  bor  to  denote  an  anchorage;  latitude  24^°;  and  "C.  di  Callifor- 
nia" east  of  San  Josd  del  Cabo. 

On  another  of  these  charts  there  is  the  legend  "II  Regm  della 
Callifornia,"  but  the  first  three  words  are  crossed  out.  In  latitude 
27  degrees  is  noted  "La  Costa  della  Callifornia."  In  several  others 
are  noted  "Callifornia,"  "Callifornia  R."[egnum],  "C.  di  Calli- 
fornia," "Capo  di  S.  Lucca  della  Callifornia." 

On  one  chart  the  cape  on  the  main  land  directly  east  of  the  south- 
ern end  of  tin  peninsula  is  denoted  "C.  dirimpetto  la  Callifornia"; 
i.  e.  Cape  opposite  to  California. 

1630  1647. — On  Dudley's  "Carta  prima  Generale  d'America**" 
ofl  the  southern  extremity  of  the  peninsula  is  "la  California";  al- 
ready California  had  been  considered  an  island. 


MAPS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  13 

1647. — In  the  "Argonauticon  Americanorum  sive  Historiae  peri- 
culorum  Petri  de  Victoria  ac  socio  rum  eius"  by  Ioannes  Bisseliuse 
Societate  Jesu,  Libri  XV;  M.  DC.  XLVII,  there  is  a  chart  only  4% 
x  2%  inches,  with  the  name  California  on  the  peninsula,  at  the  head 
of  which  is  the  "Tolmu  Regnu."  [Tolmum  Regnum.] 

1671. — On  the  chart  of  Arnoldus  Montanus,  published  in  Hol- 
land, California  is  laid  down  as  an  island  that  terminates  at  Cape 
Blanco  north  of  Cape  Mendocino.  Along  the  length  of  this  island 
is  the  name  "California."  An  English  edition  of  the  book  and 
chart  was  published  in  1672. 

1699. — California  I.  In  the  volumes  of  Dampier's  account  of  his 
semi-piratical  voyages,  4th  Edition,  1699,  there  are  two  maps;  upon 
one  the  name  as  here  given,  is  applied  to  the  lower  part  of  Califor- 
nia, the  northern  part  not  being  drawn.  Upon  the  western  hemis- 
phere "California"  is  laid  down  as  an  island  extending  to  latitude 
44°. 

1698-1702.— The  "Tabula  California;  Anno  1702"  was  made 
from  the  personal  observations  of  R.  Father  Eusebius  Francisco 
Chino,  S.  J.  In  this  he  names  the  gulf  and  the  peninsula  "Califor- 
nia," and  states  that  he  made  his  journey  through  the  peninsula 
from  latitude  25°  to  latitude  33°. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  the  charts  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
yet  we  mention  the  "Tabula  Californiae  Anno  1702.  Ex  aut- 
optica  observatione  delineata  a  R.  P.  Chino  e  S.  J."  It  is  de- 
voted to  the  locations  of  the  missions  south  of  the  River  Gila  and 
on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  peninsula  of  California,  his  "Californiae 
Pars."  The  gulf  is  named  "Mare  Californias;"  and  the  Pacific 
is  the   "Mare  del  Zur." 

We  add  with  some  detail  a  description  of  a  map  which  we  have 
not  seen  elsewhere  mentioned. 

In  his"Geographia  dModerna  Descripcion  del  Mundo,"  Don  Sebas- 
tian Fernandez  de  Medrano*,  has  introduced  a  map  of  America 
wherein  we  find  some  peculiarities  of  geography  and  the  name  Cali- 
fornia appears  twice.  The  map  is  seven  by  six  inches  and  is  in- 
serted between  pages  220  and  221.     It  is  on  a  spherical  projection 


*Geographia  6  Moderna  Descripcion  del  Mundo.  y  sus  partes,  dividida  en  dos  tomos,  y  com- 
puesta  por  Don  Sebastian  Fernandez  de  Medrano  General  de  Batalla,  y  Director  de  la  Aca- 
demia  Real  y  Militar  del  Exercito  de  los  Payses  Baxos.  Enriquezida  de  Cartas  Geographicas  y 
mas  Estampas,  Tomo  Primero  Amberes.  Por  Henrico  y  Cornelio  Verdussen,  Mercaderes  de 
Libros  Ario  1709.  Size  6%  x  4^  inches,  2  Vols,  in  one,  274  and  296  pages  with  Indices  and 
plates. 


14  THE     ORIGIN    OF    THE     NAME    CALIFORNIA. 

and  the  central  meridian  reachesto  latitude  75°  north  and  55°  south. 
On  the  western  coast  of  North  America,  "California"  is  laid  down  as 
an  island  lying  in  anorthwest  and  southeast  direction,  and  stretching 
from  latitude  22°  north  to43°  or  44°  at  the  "FretumAniani".  There 
is  no  name  given  to  the  long  strait  or  gulf  lying  between  the  island 
and  the  main  land;  but  the  ocean  to  the  westward  of  the  island  is 
the  "Mare  California?."  Of  the  names  of  land  features  we  find  on  the 
irregular  line  westward  from  the  Fretum  Aniani  for  twenty  degrees 
of  longitude  in  the  latitude  of  45°  the  "Terra  Esonis"  (Land  of  Eso 
or  Yezo,  Japan  ?). 

The  northwestern  cape  is  "C.  Blanco  "  in  latitude  41°;  "P.  d. 
Monti  Ry"  in  latitude  38°;  "Canaled.S.  Barbara"  in  latitude  35°, 
but  the  channel  and  islands  are  located  south  of  that  name. 

Point  Conception,  not  named,  is  in  latitude  34°. 

We  find  the  "I.  d.  S.  Catalina"  in  latitude  32^°. 

The  island  of  "S.  Clement"  is  fixed  to  the  east  of  Catalina.  Far- 
ther  south  liesthe  "I.  d.  Pararos;"  the  "P.d.  S.  Apolline",  and  "C. 
Lucas"  in  its  proper  latitude. 

These  arc  all  the  names  on  the  chart  that  relate  to  California  and 
the  northwest  coast;  but  we  may  state  that  the  "Fretum  Aniani" 
leads  eastward  into  a  great  sea  that  approaches  the  north  eastern 
coast  of  America. 

In  the  Pacific,  south  of  20°,  he  gives  the  broad  ocean  the  name 
"Mar  del  Zur"  to  latitude  15°  S. ;  "Mare  del  Zur"  along  theMexican 
and  Central  American  coast;  and  "Mare  Pacificum"  south  of  the 
tropic  of  Capricorn. 

In  the  Pacific  we  find  many  of  the  islands  of  the  Hawaiian  group 
with  Spanish  names,  S.  Pedro,  Los  Reis,  etc.,  but  they  are  located 
ten  degrees  too  Ear  south  and  too  far  west.     They  recall  the  group 
Lands  on  the  Ilondius  map  of  1618-27. 

scribed  California  in  one  page  of  his  text,  and  we 
a  brief  lit<  ral  translation  thereof. 

.    CALIFORNIA. 

thertotb  |  and  north  of  the  islands  of  Las  Velas 

he  Ladroi  hat  of  California(h<  ldevento  our  time 

■  1m<  h  has  to  the  eastward  the  Red  Sea 

onamed  reason  as  that  of  Arabia.     To  the 

rd    arc   the    limits  <»t    the  China    Sea  [Oceano   Chinense], 


FERNANDEZ  DE  MEDRANO  ON  CALIFORNIA.  15 

which  also  bathes  to  the  westward  the  islands  of  Las  Velas  and 
Salomon ;  to  the  northward  they  sweep  to  the  mainland  of  the  King- 
dom of  Quivira,  and  to  the  land  to  the  south  is  the  Mar  Pacifico. 
This  comprehends  everything  between  the  23d  and  43d  degrees  of 
latitude,  and  between  the  237th  and  262d  degrees  of  longitude. 
The  traverse  from  north  to  south  is  350  leagues,  from  the  east  to 
the  west  is  110  leagues,  and  the  circumference  is  1100  leagues. 
In  this  area  there  are  many  pieces  of  land  uninhabited  and  sterile, 
and  only  at  the  south  are  named  numerous  points  and  capes 
which  have  been  discovered  and  reconnoitred  by  the  Spaniards. 
All  the  other  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  to  the  south  are 
of  little  consequence,  and  so  we  will  pass  to  those  islands  which 
lie  to  the  northward,  and  to  those  which  are  named  the  Windward 
and  the  Leeward  Islands." 

Then  he  describes  Greenland,  Newfoundland,  and  the  West  In- 
dies. The  whole  description  of  California  and  the  Pacific  is  erro- 
neous, and  not  in  conformity  with  the  map  which  he  presents.  But 
it  will  be  noted  that  he  gives  the  southern  and  northern  limits  of 
California  as  23°  and  43°,  agreeing  with  data  to  the  time  of  Vizcaino. 

The  longitudes  are  reckoned  eastward  through  360  degrees  from 
the  Meridian  of  Ferro,  the  southwestern  island  of  the  Canaries,  in 
latitude  27°45/   and  longitude   17°40'  west  from  Greenwich. 

The  leagues  given  are  those  of  old  Spain, and  as  they  are  used  in 
other  old  Spanish  narratives  we  present  his  explanation  of  their 
relation  to  one  degree  on  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

THE  LENGTH  OF  AN  OLD  SPANISH  LEAGUE. 

Fernandez,  in  his  subdivision  "de  la  Grandeza  de  la  Tierra,"  pages 
40-42,  states  that  the  circumference  of  the  terrestrial  globe  is  di- 
vided into  three  hundred  and  sixty  degrees;  and  that  each  degree 
is  subdivided  into  seventeen  and  one  half  Spanish  leagues;  p.  40. 
And  after  enumerating  the  lengths  of  the  subdivision  of  a  degree 
by  Italy,  Germany  and  France,  he  repeats  the  former  statement 
and  adds  that  each  league  contains  three  and  three  sevenths 
miles.  This  makes  the  old  Spanish  league  equal  to  3.43  geographic 
miles,  or  3.95  English  Statute  miles. 

The  author  ventures  upon  stating  the  circumference  of  the  globe, 
and  its  superficial  area,  and  comes  remarkably  close  to  modern  de- 
terminations. 


THE  FIRST  VESSEL  NAMED  CALIFORNIA. 

From  1603  to  1768  Spain  was  oblivious  to  the  possibilities  of  Cali- 
fornia. In  1741  Lord  Anson  was  on  the  coast  of  New  Spain  waiting 
for  the  annual  treasure  ship  from  the  Philippines.  He  afterwards 
captured  her  off  the  straits  of  San  Bernardino.  But  Spain  con- 
tinued in  her  lethargy  towards  California.  The  irruption  of  Captain 
Cook  into  the  South  Sea  in  1768-9  awakened  her.  About  this  time 
there  was  a  commercial  war  in  London  over  the  claims  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  as  to  their  rights  to  territory  and  the  enormous 
profits  of  the  fur  trade,  and  whether  they  had  discovered  the  route 
to  the  Indies  from  Hudson's  Bay.  In  this  war  of  rival  interests,  Mr. 
Arthur  Dobbs  formed  an  opposition  company  about  1740,  and  later 
fitted  out  two  vessels  to  carry  on  the  fur  traffic  and  if  possible  open 
the  route  to  the  South  Seas. 

Part  of  the  exploits  of  these  parties  are  given  in  a  volume  pub- 
lished in  London  in  1748  containing  "An  account  of  a  voyage  for  the 
discovery  of  a  Northwest  passage  by  Hudson's  Streight  to  the  Wes- 
tern and  Southern  oceans  of  America,  performed  in  the  year  1746 
and  1747  in  the  ship  California,  Captain  Francis  Smith,  commander", 
by  the  clerk  of  the  California.*     The  ship  is  reported  as  140  tons. 

The  use  of  this  name  for  one  of  the  vessels  indicates  no  doubt  that 
they  had  in  view  a  voyage  along  the  northwest  coast  and  as  far 
south  as  California,  and  is,  as  far  as  we  know,  the  first  application  of 
the  name  California  to  a  vessel. 

*The  author's  name  was  Drage.     See  Barrow's  Arctic  Voyages,  (1818),  p.  287. 


/ 


EARLY  SPANISH  MENTION  OF  THE  NAME   CALIFORNIA 
IN  NARRATIVES  AND  DOCUMENTS. 

The  first  mention  of  the  name  California  which  we  have  found  in 
print  is  found  in  Francisco  Preciado's  diary  of  the  voyage  of  dis- 
covery of  Francisco  de  Ulloa  on  both  coasts  of  the  Gulf  of  California, 
and  on  the  Pacific  Coast  as  far  north  as  latitude  29°  56' .  This  voyage 
occupied  the  latter  part  of  1539  and  the  early  part  of  1540.*  The 
vessels  were  sailing  southeastward,  close  along  the  eastern  coast  of 
the  peninsula  (October-November),  and  the  narrator  says:  "We 
"found  ourselves  fifty-four  leagues  distant  from  California,  a  little 
"more  or  less,  always  in  the  southwest  seeing,  in  the  night  time, 
"three  or  four  fires."  This  narrator  uses  the  name  California  but 
once;Hakluyt  interpolates  the  "point  of  California." 

Bernal  Diaz  is  the  authority  most  frequently  quoted  in  reference 
to  the  naming  of  the  peninsula.  In  chapter  CC  of  his  "Historia 
Verdadera  de  la  Conquista  de  la  Nueva  Espana,"f  he  mentions  the 
name  and  the  circumstances  of  its  application  by  Cortes.  In  an  ap- 
pendix we  give  a  few  words  of  his  career  and  standing. 

That  chapter  recounts  the  supreme  efforts  which  Cortes  essayed 
for  the  discovery  of  new  lands  and  new  islands.  His  captains  failed 
him,  his  ships  were  lost,  and  finally  he  fitted  out  a  last  armada  and 
took  command  himself.  He  "determined  to  fulfill  his  contract 
"with  the  Most  Serene  Empress  Dona  Isabel,  of  glorious  memory." 
But  failure  followed  failure.  He  carried  his  vessels  from  Te- 
huantepec  to  the  westward  and  northward  along  the  coast  to  the 
Gulf  of  California.  After  a  severe  trial,  Diaz  says,  "he  was  deter- 
"mined  to  discover  other  lands  [than  Santa  Cruz  Island,  reported 
"by  Ximenes'  crew],  and  by  chance  came  upon  California  which  is 
"a  bay.  [Cortes  *  *  *  fue  a  descubrira'  otras  tierras,  y  entonces 
"toparon  con  la  California,  que  es  una  bahia.]"     He  remained  at 


♦There  is  no  earlySpanish  publication  or  record  of  his  discoveries.  The  Italian  account  is 
in  the  third  volume  of  the  Navigations  and  Voyages  of  Gio.  Battista  Ramusio,  pages  339-354, 
published  in  Venice  in  1565.  It  was  published  in  English  by  Hakluyt  in  1600  in  his  Voyages, 
etc.,  Vol.  Ill,  pages  397-424.  The  Italian  title  is  too  long  to  quote:  see  Voyages  of  Discovery 
and  Exploration  on  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America,  Davidson,  1886. 

tHiSTORY  of  California,  H.  H.  Bancroft.     Vol.  I,  1542  to  1800,  page  65  n. 

JHistoria  verdadera  de  la  Conquista  de  la  Nueva  Espana  escrita  por  el  Capitan  Bernal  Diaz 
del  Castillo  uno  de  sus  Conquistadores.  Nueva  edicion  corregida.  Paris,  1837.  Four  vol- 
umes, 12  mo.       See  Vol.  IV.     Chapter  C  C;  pages  335-338. 

The  original  history  was  not  completed  until  the  period  of  Drake's  1577-80  expedition,  but 
the  name  and  the  results  of  the  Ulloa  and  Cabrillo  voyagesof  discovery  had  been  made  public. 


18  THE   ORIGIN   OF  THE   NAME   CALIFORNIA. 

this  anchorage  a  long  while;  then  went  to  New  Spain,  leaving  a 
colony  at  the  place.  His  vessels  returned  and  carried  back  to  Na- 
tividad  all  the  soldiers  and  captains;  [todos  los  soldados  y  capi- 
tanes  que  habia  dexado  en  aquella  isla  6  bahia,  que  llaman  la  Cali- 
fornia]. Cortes  then  ordered  Captain  Francisco  de  Ulloa  to  sail 
from  Natividad  on  June  15th,  1535,  to  explore  the  eastern  coast  of 
the  peninsula  and  lay  it  down  more  thoroughly  [que  corriesen  la 
costa  adelante,  y  acabasan  de  baxar  la  California].  From  this  ac- 
count, which  Diaz  must  have  received  from  those  who  were  in  the 
expedition,  it  appears  that  the  name  was  given  to  a  bay  or  an- 
chorage, to  the  island  protecting  that  anchorage,  and  lastly  to  the 
Peninsula. 

Herrera  mentions  the  name  twice:*  "i  £  los  diez  de  Noviembre, 
"continuando  siempre  la  hermosura  de  la  Tierra,  se  hallaron  a"  cin- 
"cuenta  i  quatro  Leguas  de  la  California,  pareciendoles  siempre,  que 
"aquella  tierra  era  mui  poblada,  i  toda  esta  Costa  es  mui  profun- 
da" ***Cap.  IX,  p.  202,  col.  1.  And  about  December  15th  1539  Ulloa 
discovered  the  Bay  of  San  Abad,  (now  Santa  Marina  Bay  in  latitude 
24°  20' ),  the  southern  entrance  to  Magdalena  Bay,  where  he  had 
trouble  with  the  Indians  and  one  was  killed.  He  says  the  Indians 
could  not  understand  the  interpreter  "que  los  Castellanos  llevaban, 
"natural  de  la  Isla  de  California."     Cap.  X,  p.  203,  col.  2. 

Herrera  charges  Preciado  with  advising  Ulloa  to  kill  the  Indians, 
and  in  the  Index  we  find  the  following  statements:  "Francisco 
Preciado  aconseja  a  Ulloa  embista  a  los  Indios,  i  por  que  ?  *  *  * 
pide  licencia  a  Ulloa  en  la  Isla  de  los  Cedros  para  matar  vn  lndio,  i  se 
la  niega." 

During  1535-37  Ulloa  reconnoitered  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
peninsula  of  California  to  the  Colorado  and  thence  southward,  there- 
by establishing  the  geographic  relations  of  the  peninsula  and  conti- 
nental coasts. 

In  1539,  with  the  vessels  Santa  Agueda  and  Trinidad  he  was  or- 
dered  to  reconnoiter  the  southern  extent  of  the  peninsula,  and  then 
conl  inue  northward  along  the  Pacific  coast. 


*Hirro  UA  Gbnbsu.1  de  los  Hechos  de  los  Castellanos  *  *  *     Decada  VI,  Lib.  I,  Cap: 
VIII.  IX.  X. 


CABRILLO  AND  FERRELO  19 

After  his  failure  to  beat  his  sluggish  ships  more  than  sixty  miles 
north  of  Cerros  Island  against  our  usual  northwest  winds  and  an 
adverse  current,  the  further  exploration  of  the  coast  along  the  Pa- 
cific was  assigned,  in  1542,  to  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo,  a  Portu- 
guese navigator  in  the  service  of  Spain,  and  Bartolome  Ferrelo, 
chief  pilot,  who  were  more  successful  and  saw  land  as  far  north  as 
King  Peakbetween  Point  Arena  and  Cape  Mendocino.  They  did  he- 
roic work,  and  Cabrillo  lost  his  life  at  San  Miguel  Island  in  the  Santa 
Barbara  Channel.  * 

We  quote  extracts  of  their  reports  as  given  by  Herrera:f  "Sun- 
"day,  on  the  second  day  of  July  [1542],  they  found  themselves  in 
"twenty  and  four  degrees  and  more,  and  recognized  the  Port  of 
"Marques  del  Valle  [Cortes]  which  is  called  La  Cruz,  [Santa  Cruz], 
"which  is  on  the  Coast  of  California;"  and  the  marginal  note  is  to 
the  same  effect.     Cabrillo. 

Ferrelo  says:  "Sunday,  the  second  day  of  July  [1542],  they  were 
"delayed  in  crossing  over  [the  Gulf  of  California]  by  the  weather, 
"which  was  not  favorable,  almost  four  days;  they  anchored  the  fol- 
lowing Monday,  on  the  third  of  the  same,  off  the  Point  of  Califor- 
"nia,  and  were  here  two  days,  and  from  this  place  they  reached  the 
"Port  of  San  Lucas  the  fbllowingThursday."  In  latitude  27°  07' ,  he 
"says,  "were  groves  of  trees  which  they  had  not  seen  from  the 
"Point  of  California." 

In  his  "Description"  Herrera  says  that  "California  is  a  great 
"point  of  land  that  stretches  into  the  sea  through  several  degreesof 
"latitude;  and  from  its  [southern]  extremity  it  reaches  towards  the 
"northwest  about  two  hundred  leagues;  nevertheless  it  has  not  re- 
ceived much  attention,  neither  its  Ports  nor  Islands  in  the  Gulf  of 
"California"   *   *    *. 

The  marginal  reference  is  "California";  page  24,  column  1. 

In  his  index,  Volume  VIII,  Herrera  says  that  Cortes  gave  the 
name;  "pusola  el  nombre  California."  In  the  text,  Vol.  VIII,  page 
139,  column  2,  in  speaking  of  Galicia,  Culiacan,  etc.,  he  writes: 
"i  mas  adelante,  la  California,  adonde  lie  go  el  primer  Marques  del 
"Valle,  que  le  puso  este  nombre." 


♦Voyages  of  Discovery  and  Exploration  on  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America,  1539  to  1603. 
Davidson,   1886. 

tHisTORiA,  etc.     Decada  VII,  Libra  V,  Cap.  Ill,  p.  89. 


20  THE   ORIGIN   OF  THE   NAME   CALIFORNIA. 

After  the  time  of  Cabrillo  and  Ferrelo  the  galleons  of  Mexico  made 
their  voyages  to  the  Philippines  by  a  nearly  direct  route  with  favor- 
able winds;  but  on  their  return  trip  they  held  well  to  the  north- 
ward to  catch  the  northwest  winds,  and  reached  the  Pacific  Coast  of 
America  in  the  latitude  of  Cape  Mendocino,  and  even  higher.  We 
have  this  clearly  stated  by  the  Viceroy,  Marques  de  Villa  Manrique, 
who  wrote  to  the  King  of  Spain  on  the  10th  of  May,  1585:  * 

"The  coast  of  New  Spain  ascends  from  the  south  even  to  42°  of 
"latitude,  because  your  Majesty's  ships  coming  from  the  Philip- 
"pines  make  the  land  in  that  latitude,  and  thence  follow  the  coast  to 
"Gapulco  [Acapulco]."  A  few  lines  later  he  speaks  of  the  voyage 
made  to  the  "Californias"  by  Cortes.  So  the  name  was  a  matter  of 
common  usage.  Hakluyt  uses  it  in  1587  in  a  letter  in  his  Voyages; 
Vol.  Ill,  page  303;  published  in  1600. 

♦Publications  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Southern  California,  1891,  page  14.  Los  Angeles 


THE   FIRST  MENTION   OF  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE    NAME 
CALIFORNIA,  IN  RECENT  YEARS. 

The  first  mention  we  find  of  the  origin  of  the  name  California  in 
recent  years  is  made  incidentally  by  George  Ticknor  in  his  "History 
of  Spanish  Literature."  He  is  comparing  the  style  and  meagreness 
of  Esplandian  with  the  eloquence  and  spirit  of  Amadis,  and  writes: 
"All  reference  to  real  history  and  real  geography  was  apparently 
"thought  inappropriate,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  circumstances, 
"that  a  certain  Calafria  [Calafia], queen  of  the  island  of  California, 
"is  made  a  formidable  enemy  of  Christendom  through  a  large  part 
"of  the  story;  and  that  Constantinople  is  said  at  one  time  to  have 
"been  besieged  by  three  millions  of  heathen.  Nor  is  the  style  better 
"than  the  story.  The  eloquence  which  is  found  in  many  passages 
"of  the  Amadis  is  not  found  at  all  in  Esplandian;  on  the  contrary, 
"large  portions  of  it  are  written  in  a  low  and  meagre  style,"  etc.  He 
first  published  his  history  in  1849,  we  quote  from  the  fourth  Amer- 
ican edition,  1872,  Vol.  I,  page  244. 

The  second  writer  who  referred  to  the  name  California  in  Las 
Sergas  de  Esplandian  was  Rev.  Edward  Everett  Hale,  D.  D.,  who 
presented  a  paper  on  the  subject  to  the  American  Antiquarian 
Society,  at  the  Hall  of  the  American  Academy  in  Boston,  April  30th, 
1862.     It  was  printed  the  same  year. 

He  introduces  the  subject  by  saying  that  his  "attention  was  acci- 
dentally directed  a  few  weeks  since  to  what  I  think  will  prove  the 
"origin  of  the  name  of  California,  as  applied  to  the  peninsula  so 
"known." 

Near  the  close  he  says  "the  original  work  is  now  so  rare,  that  I 
"think  the  copies  in  the  valuable  library  of  Mr.  Ticknor  are  the  only 
"ones  in  Massachusetts.  To  his  invaluable  collection,  and  to  that 
"kind  courtesy  which  opens  it  to  every  student,  and  illustrates  it 
"from  the  treasures  of  his  own  studies,  am  I  indebted  for  all  the  au- 
thorities of  value  which  I  am  able  to  cite  here." 

He  refers  briefly  to  Venegas,  Diaz  and  Herrera.  Further,  to 
Father  Compoi,  Clavigero,  Rev.  Dean  French,  Powers'  Statue  of 
California,  Greenhow;  and  reaches  Las  Sergas  de  Esplandian;  gives 
a  short  quotation  naming  the  Queen  and  the  Island ;  and  notes  some 
of  the  earlier  editions  of  the  romance,  and  of  the  later  Spanish  ef- 
forts to  introduce  it  to  modern  Europeans  in  1857.     This  was  done 


22  THE   ORIGIN   OF  THE   NAME   CALIFORNIA. 

more  particularly  to  illustrate  the  formation  of  the  language  to  the 
present  time.  Before  this  edition  D'Herbelay,  the  early  French 
paraphraser,  retained  the  whole  story,  but  shifted  the  locality  [but 
not  the  queen]  to  the  river  Borysthenes*  and  the  Riphan  moun- 
tains; and  in  1779,  the  Count  de  Tressan  published  a  translation 
which  the  reverend  writer  criticizes  somewhat  severely,  and  is  in 
error  when  he  says  that  the  name  California  is  left  out  in  that  trans- 
fer; see  page  563,  Vol.  II,  of  the  translation. 

Dr.  Hale  concludes  by  saying  that  "I  know  I  furnish  no  etymol- 
"ogy  for  that  word  California,"  but  suggests  "the  root  Calif,  as  the 
"Spanish  spelling  for  the  sovereign  of  the  Mussulman  power  of  the 
"time,  was  in  the  mind  of  the  author  as  he  invented  these  Amazon 
"allies  to  the  Infidel  power." 


♦Borysthenes    Flu.,    later   Danapris,    now    Dnieper,  which   falls  into  the  northern  part  of 
the  Black  Sea  about  one  hundred  miles  east  of  Odessa. 


THE  CAUSES  WHICH  GAVE  RISE  TO  THE  ROMANCES. 

In  the  earlier  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  from  the  inexorable 
code  of  the  duel  among  the  stronger,  arose  the  principles  of  chivalry. 
The  leaders  throughout  Christendom  held  its  demands  sacred  be- 
yond all  other  considerations.  It  was  the  religion  of  might,  and  of 
right  as  they  understood  this. 

When  Peter  the  Hermit  aroused  Europe  in  the  eleventh  century  to 
recover  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the  Turks,  the  opportunity  for  the 
development  of  chivalry  for  a  high  purpose  was  presented,  and  tens 
of  thousands  enlisted  or  were  forced  under  the  Banner  of  the  Cross. 
History  has  no  parallel  to  the  madness  that  lasted  through  two  cen- 
turies. From  this  fanaticism  and  frenzy  was  evolved  a  reckless 
spirit  of  adventure  and  of  enterprise. 

The  religious-military  orders  of  Templars,  Knights-Hospitallers 
of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  and  others,  were  founded  for  the  delivery 
of  the  Holy  Land  from  the  Turks,  and  naturally  there  arose  many 
religious  and  military  orders  or  organizations  which  are  represented 
today. 

From  the  exploits  of  the  Crusaders,  the  knights  and  kings,  real 
or  unreal,  there  necessarily  grew  the  wonderful,  unnatural  and 
impossible  Romances,  of  which  the  Round  Table  of  King  Arthur, 
and  the  Paladins  of  Charlemagne  are  well  known  examples. 

Traditions  were  conjured,  Amazons  created,  giants,  griffins  and 
unknown  beasts  of  land,  air  and  water  were  brought  forth  for  every 
emergency.  The  Terrestrial  Paradise  was  the  region  to  be  discovered 
in  the  far  east. 

In  one  generation  Spain  closed  the  centuries  of  warfare  against 
the  Moors;  she  expelled  a  hundred  thousand  of  her  Jewish  popula- 
tion. With  peace  reigning  and  industry  nearly  destroyed,  her 
young  nobles  sought  new  fields  for  enterprise.  The  daring  sea  ex- 
plorations of  the  Portuguese  aroused  Spain  to  the  opening  of  a  vast, 
unknown  field  for  exploitation.  Columbus  appeared,  and  Isabella 
saw  the  discovery  of  a  new  world.  Then  quickly  followed  the  con- 
quest of  Mexico,  of  Central  America,  of  Peru,  and  the  countries  of 
the  Amazon  and  the  Orinoco. 

The  ardent  soul  of  Spain  was  awakened.  In  fifty  years  her  fleets 
had  passed  the  Strait  of  Magallanes,  crossed  the  Pacific,  and  discov- 
ered the  Philippines.     She  circumnavigated  the  globe;  her  traffic 


24  THE   ORIGIN   OF  THE   NAME   CALIFORNIA 

crossed  the  Pacific  to  the  Occident ;  and  her  discoverers  reached 
nearly  to  Cape  Mendocino. 

No  romance  read  by  her  nobles  and  her  people,  approached  the 
height  of  such  supreme  accomplishments. 

It  is  not  to  be  marvelled  that  when  the  Romances  began  to  ap- 
pear they  were  seized  upon  by  the  people,  who  had  little  to  read 
save  some  dry  treatises  of  philosophy  or  theology.  They  were  to  be 
found  everywhere ;  edition  after  edition  appeared  in  different  places. 
The  traditions  of  the  days  of  the  Crusades  were  still  recited,  and 
these  new  Romances  seemed  the  verification  of  the  old  stories.  They 
were  read,  discussed,  and  were  an  intellectual  enjoyment  of  the 
people,  high  and  low. 

Their  reading  was  not  confined  to  Spain;  the  Amadis  was  trans- 
lated into  French,  Italian,  Dutch,  English,  German,  and  even  into 
Hebrew.     Robert  Southey  translated  the  Amadis. 

Ticknor  says  that  "we  have  abundant  proof  that  the  fanaticism 
"for  these  romances  was  so  great  in  Spain  during  the  sixteenth 
"century,  as  to  have  become  matter  of  alarm  to  the  more  judicious. 

"Many  of  the  distinguished  contemporary  authors  speak  of  the 
"mischiefs,  and  from  different  sources  we  know  that  many  who 
"read  the  fictions  took  them  for  true  histories.  The  evil,  in  fact,  had 
"become  formidable  and  the  wise  began  to  see  it.  At  last  these 
"romances  had  been  deemed  so  noxious,  that  in  1553  they  were  pro- 
hibited by  law  from  being  printed  or  sold  in  the  American  colo- 
"nies,  and  in  1555  the  same  prohibition,  and  even  the  burning  of  all 
"copies  of  them  then  extant  in  Spain  itself,  was  earnestly  asked  for  by 
"the  Cortes.  And  this  prohibition  would  have  become  a  law  were  it 
"not  that  the  abdication  of  the  emperor,  the  same  year,  stopped 
"action  upon  it." 

The  passion  for  this  class  of  literature  gradually  abated,  and  at 
last  died  out  when  Cervantes  attacked  it  with  exquisite  ridicule. 


THE    HISTORIAN    TICKNOR'S    ESTIMATE    OF    THE    RO- 
MANCE AMADIS  DE  GAULA. 

He  says  that  in  the  extraordinary  and  innumerable  family  of 
Romances  the  Amadis  is  the  poetical  head  and  type.  The  author 
"certainly  had  a  knowledge  of  the  old  French  Romances,  such  as 
"that  of  Saint  Graal  or  Holy  Cup: — the  crowning  fiction  of  the 
"Knights  of  the  Round  Table." 

He  then  traces  the  Original  to  Vasco  de  Lobeira,  a  Portuguese 
gentleman  attached  to  the  court  of  John  of  Portugal.***  "He 
"died  in  1403.  *  *  *  Our  first  notice  of  it  is  from  a  grave 
"statesman,  Ayala,  the  Chronicler  and  the  Chancellor  of 
"Castile,  who  died  in  1407  *  *  *  Gomez  Eannes  de 
"Zurara,  keeper  of  the  archives  of  Portugal  in  1454,  *  *  *  leaves 
"no  substantial  doubt  that  the  author  of  the  Amadis  of  Gaul 
"was  Vasco  de  Lobeira."*  As  Lobeira  died  in  1403,  that  carries  the 
date  earlier  than  1400.  The  original  has  been  undiscovered.  A 
manuscript  copy  existed  as  late  as  1750.  It  is  supposed  to  have 
been  burned  in  the  palace  of  the  Dukes  of  Arveiro  in  1755. 

The  Spanish  version  was  made  between  1492  and  1504  by  Garcia 
Ordohes  de  Montalvo,  and  very  probably  was  printed  before  1504, 
because  Montalvo  (page  235  n. )  says  in  his  prologo  that  both  of  the 
Catholic  Sovereigns  were  still  alive,  and  it  is  known  that  Isabella 
died  in  1504.  Montalvo  wrote  the  Esplandian  perhaps  before  he 
published  the  Amadis,  and  introduced  it  as  the  fifth  Amadis. 

The  purpose  of  the  Amadis  was  to  set  forth  the  character  of  a 
perfect  knight  so  as  to  illustrate  the  virtues  of  courage  and  chastity 
as  the  only  proper  foundation  of  such  a  character.  Page  237.  The 
Amadis  is  admitted  by  general  consent  to  be  tbe  best  of  all  the 
old  romances  of  chivalry.  *  *  *  The  Amadis,  therefore,  was  a 
work  of  extraordinary  popularity  in  Spain;  and  one  which,  during 
the  centuries  of  its  greatest  favor,  was  more  read  than  any  other 
book  in  the  language.     Page  241. 

To  show  that  its  popularity  was  genuine  Mr.  Ticknor  adduces 
testimony  from  Cervantes: 


♦History  op  Spanish  Literature,  George  Ticknor.     2nd  edition,  1854,  pages  221,  222, 
Vol.  I. 


l2l)  THE    ORIGIN   OF  THE    NAME   CALIFORNIA 

Even  when  "the  avenging  satire  of  Cervantes"  *  swept  away  the 
whole  of  the  Romances,  we  see  that  he  "was  not  insensible  to  its 
"merits.  *  *  *  The  first  book  that,  as  he  tells  us,  was  taken  from 
"the  shelves  of  Don  Quixote,  when  the  curate,  the  barber,  and  the 
"housekeeper  began  the  expurgation  of  his  library,  was  the  Amadis 
"de  Gaula.  *  *  *  'There  is  something  mysterious  about  this 
"matter,'  quoth  the  curate;  'for,  as  I  have  heard,  this  was  the  first 
"book  of  knight-errantry  that  was  printed  in  Spain,  and  all  the 
"others  have  had  their  origin  and  source  here,  so  that,  as  the  arch- 
"heretic  of  so  mischievous  a  sect,  I  think  he  should,  without  a  hear-, 
"ing,  be  condemned  to  the  fire.'  'No  Sir,'  said  the  barber,  'for  I, 
"too,  have  heard  that  it  is  the  best  of  all  the  books  of  its  kind  that 
"have  been  written,  and,  therefore,  for  its  singularity,  it  ought  to 
"be  forgiven.'  'That  is  the  truth',  answered  the  curate, 'and  so  let 
"us  spare  it  for  the  present";  a  decision,  which,  on  the  whole,  has 
been  confirmed  by  posterity,  and  precisely  for  the  reason  Cervantes 
has  assigned.     Pages  243,  244. 

Mr.  Ticknor  might  have  continued  a  little  further: 
"The  next  one,  said  the  barber,  is  the  Exploits  of  Esplandian,  the 
"son  of  Amadis  de  Gaula.  Verily,  said  the  curate,  the  goodness  of 
"the  father  shall  not  avail  the  son.  Throw  him  into  the  yard  and 
"let  him  make  a  beginning  of  the  pile  for  the  intended  bonfire." 
And  so  Esplandian  was  doomed  to  the  flames.  [Translation  by 
Charles  Jarvis.] 


*"A1  immortal  Cervantes  estaba  reservado  el  aniquilar  de  un  solo  golpe  los  libros  de  cabal- 
lerias."     Don  Pascual  de  Gayangos.     " 


BERNAL    DIAZ,    ONE    OF   THE    CONQUISTADORES,   AND 

HISTORIAN  OF  THE  EXPLOITS  OF  CORTES,  HAD 

READ  THE  AMADIS  DE  GAULA. 

At  the  time  when  Cortes  with  his  victorious  army  was  approach- 
ing the  city  of  Montezuma,  Diaz  writes:  "The  discourse  with  the 
"Caciques  was  finished  and  we  immediately  moved  toward  the  city. 
"The  chiefs  had  brought  with  them  so  many  people  from  the  sur- 
rounding districts  to  see  us  that  the  roads  were  filled  with  them. 

"The  next  morning  we  reached  the  broad  highway  of  Iztapalapa, 
"which  is  straight  and  level  as  any  that  exists  in  Mexico.  There  we 
"halted,  and  thence  beheld  many  cities  and  towns  in  the  water, 
"[of  the  lake],  and  on  the  firm  land  were  others  with  multitudes  of 
"people.  We  were  seized  with  admiration,  and  declared  they 
"seemed  like  the  castles  of  enchantment  recorded  in  the  book  of 
"Amadis  [de  Gaula.]  Grand  towers,  temples  and  edifices  that 
"seemed  to  rise  from  the  water.  And  all  these  were  constructed  of 
"stone  and  mortar,  [cal  y  canto.]  Some  of  our  soldiers  said  they 
"could  not  be  sure  whether  they  were  really  seeing  this  or  were 
"dreaming. 

"And  it  must  not  be  wondered  that  I,  on  the  spot,  should  de- 
scribe the  scene  in  this  manner,  and  which  I  have  long  pondered. 
"We  have  beheld  unnumbered  things  that  have  never  been  heard 
"of,  never  seen,  and  never  dreamed  of."  Diaz  continues  his  des- 
criptions; and  devotes  Chapter  LXXXVIII  to  "el  gran  e  solemne 
"recebimiento  que  nos  hizo  el  gran  Montezuma  a  Cortes,  y  a  todos 
"nosotros  en  la  entrada  de  la  gran  ciudad  de  Mexico."* 

See  appendix  for  Diaz.'s  life. 


♦HlSTORIA  VERDADERA  DE  LA  CONQUISTA  DE  LA  NuEVA  ESPANA,    ESCRITA  pOR  EL  CaPITAN   BlSR- 

nal  del  diaz  del  Castillo,  uno  de  sus  conquistadores.  Nueva  edicion  cotregida.    .Pans,  L,l- 
breria  de  Rosa.     1837,  4  Vols.,  duo;  see  Vol.  II,  pages  67,  68. 


THE    MYTHICAL   AMAZONS,   THE    GRIFFINS,   AND    THE 
TERRESTRIAL  PARADISE. 

Ancient  medals  and  monuments  represent  the  Amazons  in  war- 
like costume.  They  used  bows  and  arrows,  javelins,  an  axe  of 
peculiar  shape,  and  bucklers  in  the  form  of  a  half  moon.  They  are 
said  to  have  founded  an  empire  along  the  south  and  east  coasts  of 
the  Black  Sea,  with  their  principal  seat  on  the  river  Thermodon 
which  empties  near  the  southernmost  part  of  that  sea. 

Homer  relates  that  when  Priam  was  encamped  with  the  Phry- 
gians on  the  banks  of  the  Sangarius  (Saggarios)  the  Amazons 
('A/ia^o'i/e?)  equal-to-men  joined  them.  * 

Their  queen  Penthesilea,  who  invented  the  battle  axe,  aided  in 
the  defence  of  Troy. 

Herodotus  particularly  decribes  the  battle  fought  between  the 
Greeks  and  the  Amazons  on  the  Thermodon,  with  their  defeat  and 
being  carried  into  captivity. 

Diodorus  Siculus  says  there  was  a  nation  living  on  the  Thermodon 
that  was  governed  by  women,  who  managed  all  military  affairs.  He 
also  mentions  another  race  of  Amazons  who  dwelt  in  Africa  and 
that  they  were  of  greater  antiquity  than  those  on  the  Thermodon. 

Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Theseus,  treats  of  the  Amazons,  and  con- 
siders the  accounts  which  have  been  preserved  of  them  as  partly 
fabulous  and  partly  true.  In  his  life  of  Pompey  he  locates  them  in 
the  Caucasus,  and  on  the  Thermodon. 

Quintus  Curtius  details  the  visit  of  Queen  Thalestris  of  the  Ama- 
zons to  Alexander  the  Great;  it  is  mentioned  by  other  authorities, 
and  Justin  says  it  required  a  twenty-five  days'  march. 

This  fable  of  the  Amazons  survived  classical  antiquity,  and  came 
down  through  the  centuries  to  the  days  of  chivalry  and  romance; 
but  we  need  only  refer  to  the  first  letter  of  Columbus  to  be  satisfied 
that  the  early  navigators  brought  the  fables  to  the  western  world, 
and  cultivated  them  on  new  soil. 

Francisco  de  Orellana's  chronicler,  the  Dominican  Fray  Gaspar  de 
Carvajal,  transplanted  the  fable  to  regions  of  the  Amazon  River,  in 
the  wild  search  for  "el  hombre  dorado."  In  1522  Cortes  sent  Gon- 
calo  de  Sandoval  to  succor  Christoval  de  Olid  who  had  gone  to  Co- 
lima.  and  from  him  we  have  the  report  of  a  very  rich  island  peopled 

•Iliad:      Book  III,  lines  187-8:     The  mouth  is  eighty  miles  east  of  the  Bosporus. 


AMAZONS     OF     THE     NEW     WORLD  29 

with  Amazons,  ten  days'  journey  from  Colima.  This  legend  ap- 
pears in  the  fourth  letter  of  Cort6s  to  the  Emperor  Carlos  V,  dated 
Oct.  15,  1524.*  In  1529  a  large  expedition  left  Mexico  to  continue 
the  discoveries  of  Olid  and  Sandoval,  but  especially  to  reach  the 
island. 

In  the  Historia  de  Nueva  Espana  escrita  por  su  esclarecido  Con- 
quistador Hernan  Cortes,  aumentada  con  otros  documentos,  y 
notas;  por  el  Ilustrisimo  Sehor  Don  Francisco  Antonio  Lorenzana, 
Arzobispo  de  Mexico,  etc.,  1770,  this  story  is  given  in  detail.  As  a 
matter  of  history  it  eventually  killed  the  legend  of  the  Amazons. 

We  find  a  unique  illustration  of  the  persistence  of  the  belief  in 
Dourado's  chart  of  the  Coasts  of  Mexico  and  California,  under  date 
of  1580. f  In  the  country  east  of  "La  Mar  Bermeia,"  or  Vermilion 
Sea,  [Gulf  of  California],  there  are  three  groups  of  two  Amazons  in 
each,  armed  with  bows,  and  seeking  game.  The  figures  are  drawn 
over  one  inch  in  height,  in  puris  naturalibus.  There  are  also  two 
caballeros  on  horseback  armed  with  long  spears,  and  one  of  them 
is  attacking  a  mazama.     In  other  places  are  spotted  deer. 

The  belief  in  the  Amazons  was  not  confined  to  the  Conquerors  of 
Mexico;  it  preceded  their  advent,  and  was  extended  to  both  the 
Americas. 

Columbus  heard  of  the  Amazons  on  his  first  voyage.  In  his 
letter  of  March  4,  1493,  in  speaking  of  the  Caribs,  he  says:J 

"They  are  the  same  who  have  intercourse  with  the  women  on  the 
"first  island  which  is  found  on  the  voyage  from  Spain  to  the  Indies, 
"on  which  no  men  live.  These  do  not  follow  any  womanly  occupa- 
tions, but  use  bows  and  arrows  of  cane,  like  those  mentioned  above, 
"and  cover  and  arm  themselves  with  brazen  plates,  of  which  they 
"have  many.    *   *  * 


♦Venegas  repeats  the  legend  and  explains  it.     Vol.  I,  pages  131-132. 

tOur  photographic  copy  of  the  chart  No.  13,  from  Cod.  Iconogr.  137.  in  the  Royal  Museum 
of  Munchen  is  within  half  a  centimeter  of  the  size  of  the  original  which  is  47  cm.  by  64  cm. 
Mr.  Edward  W.  Mealey,  U.  S.  Consul,  wrote  to  us  saying  that  the  original  was  elaborately  drawn 
on  parchment.  It  is  a  curious  and  inaccurate  delineation  of  the  coast,  but  we  can  locate  some  of 
the  places  on  the  coast,  as  "Puerto  de  Nauidad  de  aqui  Sale  lias  naues  para  maluco,"  in  lati- 
tude 19Mj°;  "C:  Bllanico  feza  des  pobllada,"  in  latitude  34°  which  we  believe  is  Point  Concep- 
cion.  Beyond  this  all  is  vague  guess  work  to  Rui  Lopez  de  Villalobos,  west  of  the  great  strait, 
in  latitude  41°,  and  620  leagues  west  by  north  from  Point  Concepcion.  Rui  Lopez  de  Villa- 
lobos was  never  on  the  California  Coast. 

JThe  Gilded  Man,  Eldorado:  Bandelier,  page  113. 


30  THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    NAME    CALIFORNIA 

"The  legend  of  the  Amazons  was  unquestionably  domiciled  upon 
"the  American  continent  by  the  Spaniards,  and  was  suggested  by 
"imperfectly  understood  accounts  of  distant  tribes  given  by  the 
"natives,  to  whose  words  the  Spaniards  were  not  inattentive." 

The  legend  appears  first  in  the  fourth  letter  of  Cortes  to  the  Em- 
peror Carlos  V,  dated  October  15,  1524: 

"And  among  the  reports  which  he  [Gonzalo  Sandoval]  brought 
'  from  that  province  [Colima]  was  an  account  of  a  very  good  harbor 
'  (puerto  escondido) ,  [  Acapulco  ? — D.  ]  which  was  found  on  that  coast ; 
'  *  *  *  and  also  he  told  me  of  the  lords  of  the  province  of  Cigua- 
'tan,  that  many  of  them  asserted  there  was  an  island  inhabited  only 
'by  women  without  any  grown  man  among  them,  and  that  from 
'time  to  time  men  went  out  to  them  from  the  mainland ;  ***  when 
'they  bore  daughters  they  kept  them,  but  the  sons  were  put  away. 
'This  island  is  ten  days'  distance  from  the  province  and  many  of  the 
'principal  men  had  gone  there  from  the  province  and  had  seen  them. 
'I  was  also  told  they  were  rich  in  pearls  and  gold."     Page  114. 

"On  the  20th  December,  1529,  Nuno  Beltran  de  Guzman,  at  the 
'head  of  a  large  Spanish  squadron  and  more  than  eight  thousand 
'Indians  left  [the  city  of]  Mexico  for  the  purpose  of  continuing  the 
'discoveries  begun  by  Sandoval  for  Cortes  in  the  northwest.  *  *  * 
'His  march  was  directed  first  toward  Miochoacan,  but  its  ultimate 
'goal  was  the  gold-rich  and  pearl-bearing  island  of  the  fabulous 
'Amazons."     Page  119. 

"This  expedition  was  a  bitter  disappointment.     Sandoval  had 

'brought  the  story  of  the   Amazons  from   Cihuatlan  in  the  present 

'state  of  Sinaloa;  but  instead  of  the  island  on  which  he  had  placed 

'the  soldierly  women,  Guzman  was  shown  only  a  few  insignificant 

'villages.     He    found    them,    however,    exclusively   inhabited    by 

'women  and  children,  for  the  men  had  fled  to  the  mountains.     The 

'legend  of  the  Amazons  was  thus  resolved  into  those  mistakes  sure 

'to  arise  at  that  time  on  the  first  contact  of  Europeans  with  natives 

'whose  language  they  could  not  understand.     No  trace  was  found 

'of  gold,  pearls,  or  treasures  of  any  kind.     The  story  of  the  Ama- 

'zons  ceases  from  this  time  to  be  of  any  significance  in  the  history 

liscovery  in  the  northern  half  of  America."     Page  122. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  habitat  of  the  Amazons  extended  to 

South  Ann  rica.in  fact  over  nearly  the  whole  region  where  the  early 

Spanish   adventurers  and   discoverers  forced  their  way.     In   the 

northern  oi  South  America  there  was  a  wonderful  amount 


THE   GRIFFINS   OF   CALIFORNIA  ,31 

of  energy  wasted  in  the  search  for  'el  hombre  Dorado,'  or  the  gilded 
man;  and  we  quote,  from  page  64: 

"The  fable  of  the  Amazons  survived  from  classical  antiquity  as 
"one  of  the  cycle  of  myths  that  were  credited  or  held  possible.  In 
"Francisco  de  Orellana's  chronicles,  the  Dominican  Fray  Gaspar  de 
"Carvajal  transplanted  it  to  the  banks  of  the  great  South  American 
"River.  *  *  *  This  arose  from  a  simple  statement  that  below  the 
"mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro  women  took  part  in  the  fighting  against 
"the  Spaniards.  Another  statement  was  an  account  by  a  captive 
"Indian  of  a  tribe  of  Amazons,  rich  in  gold,  living  north  of  the  river. 
"***  The  Amazon  River  henceforward  formed  the  southern  bound- 
"ary  of  the  mythical  region  within  which  'el  hombre  Dorado'  could 
"still  find  a  place."     Page  64. 


THE  GRIFFINS  OF  THE  ROMANCES. 

The  Griffin  is  seen  on  ancient  medals,  and  the  chariot  of  the  Sun 
was  drawn  by  these  imaginary  animals  with  the  head  and  wings  of 
the  Eagle  and  the  body  and  legs  of  the  Lion.  They  represented 
strength  and  activity.  Having  been  adopted  by  the  Greeks  and 
the  Romans  in  ornamental  architecture  they  became  a  common 
representation  of  the  marvellous  to  writers  of  the  Romances.  And 
the  belief  in  their  existence  comes  down  to  a  very  late  day. 

The  Griffins  of  Queen  Calafia  play  a  very  picturesque  but  un- 
fortunate part  in  her  assault  upon  the  walls  of  Constantinople. 

Bisselius  (1647)  says  of  the  western  coast  of  North  America: 
"Chains  of  mountains  stretch  along  the  coast  horrifying  by  their 
"sharpness  and  steepness  to  their  very  peaks.  Wonderful  numbers 
"of  wild  animals  abound  among  their  fastnesses.  People  tell  that 
"in  the  forests  the  Gryphes  [Griffins]  are  found ;  and  this  is  not  a  fable 
"but  the  truth.  ***  Along  this  coast  is  located  the  land  of  Cali- 
"  forma." 


THE  TERRESTRIAL  PARADISE. 

The  earlier  peoples  of  Europe  discussed  the  location  of  the  Gar- 
den of  Eden.  Among  other  surmises  it  was  imagined  to  be  upon  a 
high  mountain  area  overlooking  the  greater  part  or  all  of  the  earth, 
and  that  from  it  flowed  the  four  large  rivers  of  the  world,  the  Ganges, 
the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  and  the  Nile. 

Sir  John  Mandeville  who  went  to  the  east  in  1322  says,  [Warren, 
page  7,]  "And  beyond  the  land  and  isles  and  deserts  of  Prester  John's 
"lordship***  there  is  the  dark  region***  which  lasts  from  this  coast 
"unto  terrestrial  paradise,  where  Adam  our  first  father,  and  Eve 
"were  put." 

The  wise  men  say,  "that  the  terrestrial  paradise  is  the  highest 
"place  of  the  earth,  and  it  is  so  high  that  it  nearly  touches  the  circle 
"of  the  moon  as  she  makes  her  turn."  But  the  shrewd  narrator 
closes:  "of  paradise  I  cannot  speak  properly,  for  I  was  not  there." 

In  179S,  Columbus  on  his  third  voyage  discovered  the  island  he 
named  Trinidad,  off  the  delta  of  the  river  Orinoco,  in  latitude  10^° 
north.  He  sailed  around  it  through  the  Gulf  of  Cuparipari  (Paria) 
and  through  the  Dragon's  Mouth  having  the  island  and  the  main- 
land in  view;  he  continued  west  along  the  continental  shore,  Vene- 
zuela, as  far  as  Margarita  Island.  He  believed  that  he  had  dis- 
covered so  great  a  protuberance  of  the  earth's  surface  that  he  be- 
lieved our  globe  pear-shaped;  and  in  his  letter  to  the  King  quoted 
scripture  about  the  earthly  paradise,  the  area  in  which  the  four 
great  rivers  had  their  source.  He  could  find  no  Roman  or  Greek 
authority  for  its  location ;  nor  had  he  seen  it  on  any  map ;  but  he  had 
learned  that  all  the  learned  theologians  had  fixed  it  in  the  east.  He  is 
satisfied  that  the  "earthly  paradise"  is  near  the  equinoctial  line, 
that  it  can  never  be  reached  except  by  special  providence.  The 
blandnessof  the  climate,  the  immense  volume  of  fresh  water  com- 
ing from  many  large  rivers,  the  opinions  of  holy  and  wise  theologians, 
conspire  to  satisfy  him  that  "the  terrestrial  paradise  is  situated  at 
the  spot  I  have  described."  Columbus  evidently  believed  he  had 
reached  the  land  of  India  where  the  Garden  of  Eden  had  been  in- 
definitely located. 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  MEANING  OF  THE  NAMES  CALIFORNIA 

AND  CALAFIA,  AND  ASSOCIATED  NAMES,  IN  LAS 

SERGAS  DE  ESPLANDIAN  AND  AMADIS  DE 

GAULA. 

A  condensation  of  the  title  of  Las  Sergas  is:  "El  Ramo  que  de 
"los  quatro  Libros  de  Amadis  de  Gaula  sale;  llamado  Las  Sergas  del 
"Muy  Esforzado  Caballero  Esplandian,  hijo  del  Excelente  Rey 
"Amadis  de  Gaula."*  And  the  edition  of  1510  was  generally  attri- 
buted to  Garcia  Ordonez  de  Montalvo. 

The  expanded  explanation  of  the  title  announces  that  it  was 
written  in  Greek  by  the  "Gran  Maestro  Elisabat,  who  saw  and  took 
"part  in  what  he  relates." 

To  keep  up  the  illusion  of  this  romance  having  been  written  in 
Greek  there  are  several  proper  names  of  persons  and  places  intro- 
duced in  this,  and  in  the  earlier  romance  "Amadis  de  Gaula."  The 
base  word  of  these  names  is  the  Greek  /ca\Xo?  (kallos),  meaning 
beauty. 

The  Greek  dictionary  states  that  the  form  KaWi-  (kalli) 
in  compound  words  gives  the  idea  of  beautiful  to  the  simple  word,  or 
is  like  a  mere  adjective  with  its  substantive.  Numerous  examples 
are  given  as  Ka\\Uep(o<;  (kalli-keros) ,  with  beautiful  horns; 
KaWivi/cos  (kalli-nikos) ,  with  glorious  victory ;  tcaXkioTn]  (kalli-ope), 
the  beautiful- voiced ;  KaX\,icf>vWo<i  (kalli-phyllos) ,  with  beautiful 
leaves,  etc. 

The  grand  master  Elisabat  was  simply  following  the  highest  au- 
thority, where  we  find  Paris  ending  his  address  to  Hector:  "May 
"you  inhabit  the  very  fertile  Troy;  but  let  the  Greeks  return  to 
"horse-feeding  (iTrirofiorov)  Argos  and  Achsea  abounding-in- 
'  'beautiful-women  (/caWiryvvaitca) .  "f 

With  this  short  exhibit  we  propose  the  following  explanation  for 
the  construction  of  the  names  which  Elisabat  has  given  to  his  he- 
roine, her  island,  and  to  other  persons  and  places. 


*The  Exploits  of  the  very  Powerful  Caballero  Esplandian,  Son  of  the  Admirable  King 
Amadis  of  Gaul. 

The  title  of  the  volume  containing  the  Amadis  and  Esplandian  is:  Biblioteca  de  Autores 
Espanoles  desde  la  formacion  del  lenguaje  hasta  nuestros  dias.  Libros  de  Caballerias,  con  un 
discurso  preliminar  y  un  catalogo  razonado  por  Don  Pascual  de  Gayangos,  individuo  de  la  Real 
Academia  de  la  Historia.  (Coat  of  Arms.)  Madrid,  M.  Rivadeneyra,  editor.  *  *  *  1880  Ad- 
ministration: Madera  Baja,  Num.  8,  1880.  The  sixth  edition  of  the  modern  publication  of  Jan- 
uary, 1857.  We  use  that  of  1880,  580  large  octavo  pages,  double  columns.  The  Public  Li- 
brary of  Boston  has  a  copy  of  the  edition  published  at  Burgos  in  1587;  and  we  have  negative 
photograph  plates  of  the  title  and  first  page. 

fThe  Iliad,  Book  III,  line  74. 


34  THE    ORIGIN    OP    THE    NAME    CALIFORNIA 

I.  Calafia;  "The  Queen  of  the  island  of  California;"  from 
icaXXi-,  beautiful,  and  <£t\?7,  (phile)  a  female  friend;  or  more 
probably  from  fcaXXt,<f>vr}<i  (kalliphues) ,  of  beautiful  and  noble 
stature.  "La  muy  esforzada  reina  Calafia,  senora  de  la  gran  isla 
"California,  donde  engrande  de  abundancia  el  oro  y  las  preciosas 
"piedras  de  crian."  "Of  beautiful  growth  and  shape  was  the  Queen  of 
"California  who  gave  such  unexpected  and  marvellous  succor  to  the 
"Turks  against  the  Christians,  who  were  defending  Constantinople. 
"  *  *  *  She  was  of  majestic  proportions;  more  beautiful  than  all 
"other  women,  and  in  the  full  flush  and  vigor  of  her  womanhood." 

The  name  Calafia  is  introduced  seventeen  times. 

II.  California;  from  /cdXXos,  beauty,  or  /caXXi-,  beau- 
tiful, and  opvis  (ornis),  a  bird.  "In  this  island  are 
many  griffins  *  *  *  which  can  be  found  in  no  other  part  of  the 
world."  The  queen  took  five  hundred  of  these  griffins  to  assist 
in  the  capture  of  Constantinople. 

The  name  of  thrSisland  is  introduced  ten  times  and  is  vaguely  des- 
cribed and  located,  as  we  shall  show  by  quotations. 

The  double  X  of  the  Greek  has  a  value  different  from  the  double 
1  of  the  Spanish  and  is  best  represented  by  a  single  1,  although 
some  of  the  Miinchen  manuscript  charts  have  a  double  1.  The  letter 
f  is  introduced  by  epenthesis  for  the  sake  of  euphony. 

III.  Calafera;  the  name  of  an  island,  the  lord  of  which  was 
Garlante.  From  /caXXt,-,  beautiful,  and  (frepoo,  (phero) ,  to  bear 
along  with  the  sense  of  motion;  or  more  likely,  <f>r\p,  plural  (prjpe; 
(pheres) ,  the  Centaurs.  This  name  is  used  but  once.  A  further  ac- 
count of  this  island  is  given  later. 

IV.  Califan,"  abeautiful  villaor  town  belonging  to  Barsinan,lord 
of  San  Suena."  From  icaXXi-,  beautiful,  and  (fravos  [phanos], 
bright,  etc. 

This  name  is  used  twice  in  the  Amadis  de  Gaula. 

V.  Califeno  el  Soberbio,  Califeno  the  Superb;  one  of  the  for- 
ty bravest  Caballeros.  From  icaXXi-,  beautiful,  and  <f>ep<o  (pheno), 
to  slay.     Soberbio,  the  superb,  proud,  haughty,  arrogant. 

The  name  and  designation  are  used  once. 

Later  on  we  have  suggested  that  the  name  of  Calafia's  sister, 
Liota,  who  defended  her  with  lion-like  fierceness,  was  derived  from 
the  Greek. 


TRANSLATIONS   FROM   LAS  SERGAS  CONCERNING  THE 

ISLAND  OF  CALIFORNIA  AND  CALAFIA,  THE  QUEEN 

THEREOF. 

GARLANTE,  THE  LORD  OF  CALAFERA. 

"Concerning  Esplandian  and  the  other  Caballeros  who  went  in 
"the  ship  of  la  Gran  Serpiente,  who  had  great  desire  to  visit  Urgan- 
"da  la  Desconoeida,  who,  since  having  spoken  about  many  things 
"at  the  village  of  Galacia,  sailed  with  them.    *   *   * 

"Let  us  go,  said  Urlanda,  to  the  village  and  leave  in  this  small 
"vessel  my  maidens  and  my  dwarfs,  and  send  at  once  for  Norandel. 
"There  is  no  reason  why  this  voyage  should  be  made  without  so 
"good  a  Caballero;  and  I  will  bring  to  you  your  best  friend  the  King 
"of  Dacia  whom  I  found  wounded  after  a  combat  which  he  had  with 
"Garlante,  the  Lord  of  the  Island  Calafera,  because  he  sought  to 
"seize  two  maidens  whom  he  had  with  him  in  his  ship.  Then  the 
"king  as  a  good  Caballero,  fought  with  him,  and  notwithstanding 
"the  great  risk  to  his  life,  he  finally  overcame  him  and  was  prepared 
"to  decapitate  him,  when  he  pleaded  for  mercy  and  begged  to 
"have  his  life  spared.  The  king  pardoned  him,  and  made  him 
"swear  that  he  would  never  use  the  knighthood  in  any  other  man- 
"ner  than  what  he  commanded."* 

QUEEN  CALAFIA  AT  THE  DEFENCE  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE. 

"Concerning  the  spontaneous  and  unexpected  succor  which 
"the  Queen  Calafia  rendered  in  favor  of  the  Turks  at  the  harbor  of 
"Constantinople. 

"I  wish  that  you  should  now  know  of  a  matter  so  very  strange, 
"that  neither  in  writings  nor  from  the  memory  of  people,  is  it  pos- 
sible to  discover  how  on  the  following  day  the  city  was  on  the  point 
"of  being  lost,  and  how  in  that  moment  of  peril  it  was  saved. 

"Know  ye  that  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Indies  there  is  an  island 
"named  California,  very  close  to  that  part  of  the  Terrestrial  Para- 
"dise,  which  was  inhabited  by  black  women,  without  a  single  man 
"among  them,  and  that  they  lived  in  the  manner  of  Amazons.  They 
"were  robust  of  body,  with  strong  and  passionate  hearts  and  great 
"virtues.  The  island  itself  is  one  of  the  wildest  in  the  world  on  ac- 
count of  the  bold  and  craggy  rocks.     Their  weapons  were  all  made 


♦Chapter  CVIII.  pages  508-509. 


36  THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    NAME    CALIFORNIA 

"of  gold;  and  also  the  trappings  of  their  wild  animals  with  which  they 
"make  their  forays  after  being  domesticated.    *   *   * 

"The  island  everywhere  abounds  with  gold  and  precious  stones: 
"and  upon  it  no  other  metal  was  found.  They  lived  in  caves  well 
"excavated.  They  had  many  ships  with  which  they  sailed  to  other 
"coasts  to  make  forays;  and  the  men  whom  they  took  as  prisoners 
"they  killed  in  the  manner  to  be  hereafter  described.      *  *  * 

"In  this  island,  named  California  .there  are  many  griffins  on  ae- 
"count  of  the  great  ruggedness  of  the  country  which  was  infested 
"with  wild  animals.  In  no  other  part  of  the  world  can  they  be 
"found.    *   *   * 

"Whenever  a  man  came  to  the  island  he  was  promptly  killed  and 
"eaten.   *  *  * 

"From  the  time  when  those  grand  men  of  the  Pagans  departed 
"with  their  great  fleets,  as  recorded  in  history,  there  ruled  over  that 
"island  of  California  a  queen  of  majestic  proportions,  more  beautiful 
"than  all  others,  and  in  the  very  vigor  of  her  womanhood.  She  was 
"desirous  of  accomplishing  great  deeds;  she  was  valiant  and  cour- 
ageous, and  ardent  with  a  brave  heart,  and  had  ambitions  to  exe- 
"cute  nobler  actions  than  had  been  performed  by  any  other  ruler. 

"She  listened  to  what  others  related  how  the  larger  part  of  the 
"world  expressed  themselves  against  the  Christians,  and  did  not 
"understand  what  Christians  were  because  she  obtained  her  in- 
"formation  not  directly  from  other  countries,  but  from  the  reports  of 
"neighboring  islands.  Anxious  to  see  the  world,  and  the  peoples  of 
"other  islands.and  believing  that  with  their  great  fortitude  and  hero- 
"ism,  everything  could  be  safely  gained  step  by  step,  she  addressed 
"her  women  and  declared  she  would  give  them  her  full  support ;  and 
"that  it  would  be  best  for  them  to  go  in  her  large  ships,  following 
"that  route  which  the  grand  princes  and  the  great  men  had  taken. 
"She  animated  and  encouraged  them  by  narrating  the  high  honors 
"and  many  advantages  that  would  accrue  to  them  from  such  a  voy- 
"age.  Above  all  she  pictured  the  undying  fame  which  the  whole 
"world  would  accord  to  them,  and  contrasted  these  glories  with  the 
"quiet  life  on  this  island,  where  they  did  nothing  but  what  their  an- 
cestors did ;  where  they  would  continue  to  live  in  a  tomb,  like  walk- 
"ing  ghosts,  and  the  present  and  the  future  would  pass  without 
"fame  or  glory,  as  with  brute  animals.  So  many  things  were  in- 
stilled into  them  by  this  noble  Queen  Calafia.  that  she  not  only 


CALAFIA   AT  THE   SIEGE   OF  CONSTANTINOPLE  37 

"moved  them  to  consent  to  her  proposition,  but  they  made  imme- 
diate preparation  for  the  voyage  because  they  would  so  much  the 
"sooner  meet  those  great  personages. 

"The  Queen  with  the  good  disposition  which  marked  her  life, 
"without  more  delay,  ordered  the  fleet  to  be  provisioned,  everything 
"necessary  to  be  put  on  board,  with  all  the  golden  arms;  and  gave 
"particular  orders  to  have  the  largest  vessel  fitted  as  a  vast  cage 
"with  large  wooden  gratings  wherein  to  confine  five  hundred  griffins, 
"which  I  have  already  told  you  were  fed  upon  the  men  captured 
''in  battle;  and  she  carried  also  the  animals  which  they  were  to 
"ride  in  the  forays;  and  selected  the  best  women,  and  those  best 
"armed,  for  service  in  the  fleet,  leaving  on  the  island  only  those 
"that  were  necessary  for  its  protection.  Her  preparations  were 
"so  quickly  executed  that  the  fleet  put  to  sea  and  opportunely  ar- 
"rived  at  the  rendezvous  of  the  pagan  fleet  the  night  of  the  great 
"batte,  as  I  shall  relate.  Great  joy  and  harmony  pervaded  the 
"fleets,  and  very  soon  the  Queen's  vessels  were  visited  by  the  great 
"personages  who  complimented  her  and  her  companions  very  highly. 

"She  was  very  anxious  to  learn  how  the  contest  stood,  and  to 
"learn  all  the  details  up  to  the  time  of  her  arrival.  After  learning 
"which  she  said:  'You  have  fought  bravely  in  endeavoring  to  take 
"this  city  with  your  large  numbers,  and  although  you  have  failed, 
"yet  with  my  forces  I  wish  on  the  morrow  to  show  you  that  their 
"power  will  suffice  to  overcome  the  enemy,  if  you  will  accept  my 
"advice.'  Then  all  the  great  commanders  begged  her  to  state  the 
"plans  she  proposed  to  effect  the  conquest.  She  answered:  'At 
"once  issue  orders  to  all  your  captains  that  to-morrow  they  shall  not 
"move,  nor  shall  you  leave  your  camp-quarters  until  I  give  the  or- 
"der:  and  you  shall  see  a  battle,  the  strangest  ever  seen  and  never 
"before  dreamed  of. '  This  was  promptly  made  known  to  the  Grand 
"Sultan  of  Liguia  and  to  the  Sultan  of  Halapa  who  had  command  of 
"the  army  in  the  field ;  and  by  these  made  known  to  the  troops,  who 
"all  wondered  what  could  cause  so  great  a  change  through  that 
"Queen."* 

"As  the  night  rolled  by  and  the  day  broke,  the  Queen  Calafia 
"landed  from  her  vessel.  She  and  her  Amazons  were  well  armed 
"with  weapons  of  gold,  all  covered  with  the  most  precious  stones 


♦Chapter  CLVI I,  pages  539-540. 


1698.TO 


38  THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    NAME    CALIFORNIA 

'that  are  found  on  the  island  of  California  in  great  abundance. 
'And  she  ordered  that  one  of  the  doors  of  the  large  cages  that  con- 
'tained  the  griffins  should  be  opened.  The  animals  came  forth  in  a 
'wild  scramble,  and  seeing  the  land  around  them  they  flew  up  in 
'the  air  with  apparent  delight,  and  soon  they  espied  many  people 
'walking  about.  They  were  very  hungry  and  being  without  fear 
'they  each  seized  a  man,  and  carrying  them  to  the  housetops  and 
'high  places  they  began  to  eat  them.  Many  arrows  were  shot  at 
'them,  and  they  received  heavy  blows  from  the  lances  and  swords, 
'but  their  feathers  were  so  thick  and  strong  that  their  flesh  was 
'never  hurt.  This  was  the  most  uncommon  but  satisfactory  hunt- 
'ing  that  had  ever  been  witnessed.  When  the  Turks  saw  the  grif- 
'fins  carrying  their  enemies  through  the  air  they  gave  vent  to  the 
'loudest  exclamations  of  rejoicing,  that  reached  the  very  heavens;] 
'but  it  was  very  sad  and  most  painful  to  those  in  the  city  who  were 
'unable  to  bear  it,  when  the  father  saw  carried  away  the  son,  the  son 
'the  father,  the  brother  the  brother;  and  their  floods  of  tears,  their 
'wailings  and  their  furious  actions  excited  the  greatest  compassion. 

"After  the  griffins  had  sailed  through  the  air  for  sometime,  and 
'had  dropped  their  prey,  they  descended  to  the  ground  and  to  the 
'sea  at  their  starting  point,  and  without  any  sign  of  fear  seized 
'many  others,  at  which  their  people  were  doubly  rejoiced,  and  the 
'Christians  cast  down  in  the  greatest  grief.  What  shall  I  say?  The 
'fear  upon  those  on  the  walls  was  so  great  that  had  it  not  been 
'possible  for  some  of  them  to  conceal  themselves  under  the  arches 
'of  the  towers  which  afforded  protection,  (all  the  others  having  dis- 
'appeared),  there  would  have  been  no  one  left  to  defend  them. 

"When  this  was  seen  by  Queen  Calafia.she  commanded,  in  a  loud 
'voice,  the  officers  to  order  their  men  to  the  walls  with  the  scaling 
'ladders,  and  capture  the  city  by  assault.  Then  all  rushed  for- 
'ward  with  the  greatest  alacrity,  fixed  their  ladders  and  scaled  the 
'walls.  The  griffins  which  had  already  dropped  their  captives, 
'saw  the  soldiers  making  the  assault,  and  not  knowing  friend  from 
'foe,  seized  the  Turks  in  the  same  manner  that  they  had  seized  the 
'Christians,  and  soaring  high  in  the  air  with  them,  let  them  drop  to 
'the  earth  and  thus  killed  every  one  of  them. 

"Joy  was  changed  to  tribulation.  Those  on  the  one  side  exhib- 
ited the  deepest  sorrow ;  and  those  within  the  walls  seeing  their 
'enemies  seized  on  the  walls  experienced  much  joy.     At  this  time 


THE  GRIFFINS  IN  BATTLE. 


39 


"those  Turks  who  were  on  the  ramparts  were  terrified,  and  expected 
"to  be  destroyed  by  the  griffins  as  their  comrades  had  been.  The 
"Christians  sallied  from  the  arches,  and  in  a  very  short  time  killed 
"many  of  the  Turks  who  were  between  the  walls  and  the  houses,  and 
"made  the  others  come  down,  and  again  retreated  to  the  arches  when 
"they  saw  the  griffins  flying  toward  them. 

"When  this  was  seen  by  Queen  Calafia  she  was  sad  in  a  grand 
'manner,  and  exclaimed:  'My  idols,  in  whom  I  believe  and  whom  I 
'adore,  what  is  this  that  makes  my  coming  as  favorable  to  my  en- 
'emies  as  to  my  friends  ?  I  believe  that  with  your  support  and 
'with  the  complete  preparations  which  I  have  made  we  shall  de- 
'stroy  the  enemy:  this  trouble  must  stop  here. '  And  then  she  gave 
'orders  to  her  Amazons  to  bring  the  scaling  ladders,  and  assault  the 
'towers;  kill  all  those  who  should  be  captured;  and  secure  the  grif- 
'fins.  To  obey  and  execute  the  command  of  their  Queen  they 
'quickly  dismounted,  and  placed  over  their  bosoms  half  the  skull  of 
'a  fish,  while  their  bodies  were  covered  so  strongly  that  no  weapon 
'could  pierce  them.  The  armor  of  their  bodies  and  arms  and  legs 
'was  of  gold,  as  I  have  already  described.  They  marched  rapidly 
'toward  the  walls,  placed  the  scaling  ladders  and  mounted  with 
'great  agility.  From  the  walls  they  commenced  the  fight  with  the 
'enemy  under  the  protection  of  the  arches.  But  when  attacked  at 
'close  quarters,  with  the  gates  so  small, the  latter  defended  them- 
'selves  bravely.  But  those  of  the  city  who  were  under  the  pro- 
'tection  of  the  walls  wounded  some  of  the  Amazons,  with  their 
'arrows  and  lances;  and  thus  the  women  were  attacked  on  both 
'sides,  and  found  their  arms  of  gold  were  weak.  The  griffins 
'were  hovering  over  head  without  having  been  noticed,  so  that 
'when  the  Queen  Calafia  saw  this,  she  said  to  the  officers,  'order 
'your  soldiers  to  the  walls  that  my  soldiers  may  defend  and 
'protect  my  birds  from  attack.'  Very  soon  the  Sultans  ordered 
'some  of  their  soldiers  to  scale  the  walls,  and  hold  them  and  the 
'towers,  because  by  night  all  the  army  would  support  them, 
'and  the  city  would  be  stormed.  Coming  from  their  encampment 
'at  a  quick  pace  they  climbed  upon  the  wall  where  the  women  could 
'fight;  and  very  soon  some  griffins  saw  them  and  became  so  furious 
'that  during  the  day  they  managed  to  seize  some  of  the  soldiers. 
'The  women  attacked  the  birds  with  their  knives,  caring  nothing 
'for  their  wild  nature,  but  the  griffins  would,  at  times,  seize  a  sol- 


40  THE   ORIGIN   OF  THE   NAME    CALIFORNIA 

"dier  by  force,  and  flying  high  with  their  prey  let  him  fall  to  his 
"death.  The  fright  of  the  Turks  was  extremely  great, and  many 
"who  were  scaling  the  walls  became  so  terrified  that  they  gave  up  the 
"attempt  and  retreated  to  the  encampment.  The  Queen  who  saw 
"them  skedaddle  (desbarate  sin  remidio)  utterly  demoralized,  sent 
"for  the  women  on  the  vessel  who  had  charge  of  the  griffins, to  call  the 
"birds  off  and  lock  them  in  their  cages.  These  women,  hearing  the 
"command  of  the  Queen,  climbed  high  on  the  ship,  and  in  their  lan- 
guage with  a  loud  voice  called  them  back.  And,  as  if  they  were  hu- 
"man  beings,  they  all  went  on  board,  and  obediently  went  into  their 
"cages."* 

Chapter  CLX  is  quite  long  and  full  of  the  fury  of  a  great  battle. 
Part  of  the  heading  indicates  the  aggressiveness  and  activity  of  the 
Queen: 

*       *       * 

"Y  como  Calafia,  la  espada  en  la  mano, 
Hace  gran  dano  con  sus  Amazones, 
Donde  murieron  muy  muchas  personas 
De  fieles,  y  mas  del  bando  pagano." 

The  Queen  imagined  that  the  Sultans  had  doubts  of  the  value  of 
her  assistance  which  she  was  determined  to  wipe  out.  So  at  her  re- 
quest they  ordered  the  army  to  make  a  vigorous  attack  upon  the 
walls,  while  her  fleet  was  attacking  the  city  by  water.  The  attack 
upon  the  walls  was  repulsed,  and  those  who  had  scaled  them  were 
thrown  down.  When  Calafia  saw  this  repulse  she  rushed  with 
the  Amazons  upon  the  principal  gate  Aquilena  which  was 
guarded  by  Norandel,  the  half  brother  of  Amadis.  She  advanced 
rapidly  before  the  others,  and  he  came  forth  to  meet  her.  Both 
met  in  full  career  with  such  force  that  each  lance  was  broken  upon 
the  other's  shield,  but  neither  was  unhorsed.  Norandel  drew  his 
sword  and  Calafia  her  large  knife,  (un  gran  cuchillo) ,  and  they  fought 
so  desperately  that  the  Amazons  and  the  Christians  came  to  the  sup- 
port of  their  chiefs,  and  a  general  battle  was  on. 

The  narrator  Elisabat  was  there  and  declares,  "that  the  deeds 
"which  the  Queen  did  in  arms,  such  as  slaying  knights  and  unhors- 
"ing  them  wounded,  how  she  rushed  upon  her  enemies  so  auda- 
ciously that  no  one  would  have  believed  or  dreamed  any  woman 

♦Chapter  CLVIII.  pages  240-241. 


calafia's  challenge  to  single  combat  41 

"abounded  with  so  great  prowess.  And  although  she  fought  with 
"so  many  proud  and  arrogant  knights,  and  no  one  passing  her  with- 
out giving  her  very  heavy  and  vicious  blows,  yet  she  received  them 
"all  harmlessly  upon  her  very  hard  and  strong  shield." 

When  two  of  the  knights,  Talanque  and  Mane li,  saw  what  won- 
ders the  Queen  was  doing  they  attacked  her  with  the  greatest  fury, 
as  if  they  considered  her  absolutely  insane.  Seeing  such  an  ungal- 
lant  attack  the  Queen's  sister  Liota*  rushed  to  her  defence  like  a 
wild  lioness,  and  fought  the  Caballeros  so  mortally  that,  to  the  loss 
of  their  honor,  they  were  compelled  to  withdraw. 

At  this  time  the  people  of  the  fleets  had  the  advantage,  and  had  it 
not  been  for  the  mercy  of  God  the  city  would  have  been  taken. 

The  armies  fought  cruelly  until  nearly  dark,  and  ten  of  the  va- 
liant 'Cruzados'  had  been  killed  in  defending  the  gates.  Both  ar- 
mies retired  and  Queen  Calafia  went  to  her  fleet  as  her  headquarters. 
Pages  242-3. 

After  these  discomfitures  the  Queen  Calafia  was  yet  more  anx- 
ious to  obtain  glory  and  fame  if  personal  fighting  would  bring  such 
comfort ;  so  she  joined  the  Sultan  of  Liguia  in  sending  a  challenge  to 
Amadis  and  Esplandian.  *     It  is  a  specimen  pronunciamiento. 

"Radiaro,  Sultan  of  Liguia,  shield  and  bulwark  of  the  Turkish 
"law,  destroyer  of  the  Christians,  cruel  enemy  of  the  enemies  of  the 
"gods;  and  the  very  mighty  Queen  Calafia,  Sefiora  of  the  great 
"island  of  California  celebrated  for  its  great  abundance  of  gold  and 
"the  precious  stones;  do  herewith  declare  to  you  Amadis  de  Gaula, 
"King  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  your  son  Knight  of  the  Great  Serpent, 
"that  we  have  voluntarily  come  to  these  parts  to  destroy  the  City  of 
"Constantinople,  for  the  injuries  and  losses  which  the  highly  hon- 
"ored  King  Armato  of  Persia,  our  brother  and  friend,  has  received 
"from  this  wicked  Emperor,  giving  him  favor  and  aid  because  part 
"of  his  dominion  had  been  seized  by  fraudulent  means." 

They  announce  their  desire  Lo  gain  fame,  to  have  a  fair  combat, 
before  the  assembled  armies,  the  conquered  to  submit  to  the  will  of 
the  conquerors;  and  intimate  that  if  the  challenged  do  not  accept, 
the  Queen  and  her  friend  will  count  all  the  past  glories  of  Amadis 
and  Esplandian  as  belonging  to  the  challengers. 


*Is  this  from  XeovTrj,   a  lion's  skin,  or  X€OVTO,  accusative  singular  of   XtWV,  Hon  ? 
♦Chapter  CLXIV,  page  545.  column  1. 


42  THE   ORIGIN   OF  THE   NAME   CALIFORNIA 

A  "doncella  negra  y  hermosa"  richly  attired  and  mounted  upon  a 
fiery  horse,  carried  this  challenge  to  the  king  and  his  son,  who 
showed  much  courtesy  to  the  doncella.  After  a  very  short  consul- 
tation of  the  leaders  King  Amadis  sent  an  acceptance,  which  per- 
mitted the  challengers  to  use  such  arms  as  they  thought  proper. 

When  the  negra  hermosa  returned  to  the  Queen  to  report,  she  de- 
clared that  all  the  Christian  chieftains  were  beautiful,  but  the  Knight 
of  the  Serpent  exceeded  any  human  being  in  majesty  and  beauty. 
This  so  inflamed  the  Queen  that  she  decided  to  go  alone  to  the  head- 
quarters of  the  enemy  to  see  and  talk  with  Esplandian.  She  wor- 
ried all  night  whether  to  go  armed  or  to  appear  simply  as  a  woman. 
She  decided  on  the  latter  course  and  in  the  morning  dressed  herself 
in  the  richest  robes  covered  with  gold  and  precious  stones. 

The  animal  which  she  rode  never  had  a  counterpart,  except  in  the 
imagination  of  Elisabat  or  Dore\  "They  brought  it  out  and  she 
'mounted  and  set  forth  upon  an  animal  more  marvellous  than  had 
'ever  been  seen.  It  had  ears  shaped  like  two  oval  shields,  in  the 
'broad  forehead  was  fixed  but  one  eye  that  shone  as  a  mirror.  The 
'openings  of  the  nostrils  were  very  large,  his  beak  short  and  quite 
'blunt,  so  that  nobody  could  break  it.  From  its  mouth  two  tusks 
'stood  up,  each  more  than  two  palms  in  length.  The  color  of  the 
'body  was  golden,  and  was  covered  with  many  violet  spots  as  those 
'on  the  ounce.  It  was  larger  than  a  dromedary,  and  had  its  hoofs 
'cloven  like  an  ox.  It  ran  as  swiftly  as  the  wind  and  leaped  lightly 
'among  the  craggy  rocks,  holding  itself  erect  in  any  place  as  well  as 
'a  mountain  goat.  Its  food  was  dates,  figs  and  raisins,  and  noth- 
'ing  else.  She  was  very  beautiful,  hind  quarters,  flank  and  fore- 
'quarters."* 

The  Queen  had  twenty  of  her  most  beautiful  maids  with  her, 
mounted ,  and  having  trains  four  arms'  length  trailing  on  the  ground , 
and  had  two  thousand  following.  She  saw  the  emperor  and  all  the 
kings;  she  was  struck  with  the  beauty  of  Esplandian,  and  proposed 
to  test  his  courage  in  a  combat  where  she  would  confront  Amadis, 
his  father.  If  she  and  the  Sultan  conquered  she  proposed  to  have 
a  private  talk  with  this  Knight  of  the  Great  Serpent. 

In  due  time  the  terms  were  amicably  arranged,  the  armies  were 
drawn  up  opposite  to  each  other,  and  the  combat  took  place  be- 
tween them. 

♦Chapter  CLXV.  page  547. 


THE  PROWESS  OP  AMADIS  AND  ESPLANDIAN  43 

The  King  Amadis  and  Esplandian  being  both  armed  in  expecta- 
tion of  the  coming  of  the  Grand  Radiaro,  Sultan  of  Liguia,  and  of 
Calafia,  the  Queen  of  California,  waited  but  a  short  time  when  they 
saw  them  approaching  prepared  for  the  combat.  All  the  staff  of  the 
leaders  were  present;  and  the  people  from  the  city.  The  walls  and 
towers  were  covered  with  people.  The  Emperor  was  present  near 
the  scene  and  close  to  the  wall.  He  commanded  his  daughter,  the 
beautiful  Leonorina,  attended  by  her  duenas  and  maids  of  honor,  to 
occupy  one  of  the  towers  that  they  might  be  able  to  see  what  her 
caballero  would  do. 

All  on  both  sides  were  armed  lest  they  might  be  betrayed, 
and  thus  lose  their  rights.  The  King  Amadis  and  his  son  [Esplan- 
dian] were  mounted  upon  handsome  horses,  and  bearing  their  shields 
helmets  and  lances,  marched  slowly  before  the  beholders,  and  pre- 
sented such  a  splendid  appearance,  that  every  one  was  struck 
with  astonishment  at  the  wonderful  sight. 

The  Sultan  exclaimed  in  a  loud  voice:  "Caballeros!  does  it  please 
you  to  discuss  this  matter  before  we  begin  the  combat  ?"  Amadis 
did  not  respond  until  he  had  come  close  to  them,  when  he  said: 

"Sultan!  what  do  you  wish  ?'  'That  which  I  ask'  said  he,  'is  that 
"whoever  is  overcome  ii  not  dead,  shall  be  prisoner,  and  taken  by 
"the  victor  without  shackles.'  'I  agree  to  your  proposition,'  said 
"Amadis.  'Well,  then,'  announced  the  Sultan,  'let  the  combat 
"begin!' 

"They  separated  a  short  space,  and  the  combat  began.  The 
"Sultan  encountered  Esplandian  on  the  shield  with  a  great  blow, 
"and  a  piece  of  the  lance  passed  him  within  an  arm's  length, but 
"every  one  thought  it  had  pierced  his  body;  but  it  was  not  so,  for 
"the  lance  passed  between  the  arm  and  the  body  without  touching 
"either.  And  Esplandian  looking  towards  his  beloved  wife,  struck 
"the  Sultan's  shield  and  the  iron  passing  through,  turned  its  point 
"on  his  armor.  He  was  brought  up  so  abruptly  by  the  force  of  the 
"encounter  that  he  was  thrown  from  his  saddle  to  the  ground.  He 
"raised  his  helmet  and  looking  extremely  handsome,  passed  by  as  if 
"he  had  received  no  injury. 

"The  Queen  then  advanced  toward  Amadis,  and  he  moved  for- 
"ward  to  meet  her.  Before  they  encountered  she  turned  the  butt 
"end  of  her  lance  to  the  front  and  struck  his  shield  in  that  manner 
"with  such  force  that  the  lance  was  broken  to  pieces,  and  that  of 


44  THE    ORIGIN   OF   THE    NAME    CALIFORNIA 

"Amadis  missed  the  Queen;  and  they  crashed  together  so  furiously 
"with  their  shields  that  by  the  great  force  of  the  collision  the  Queen 
"was  stunned  and  fell  to  the  ground;  and  Amadis,  with  the  head  of 
"his  horse  split  in  twain,  fell  with  one  of  his  legs  under  its  body. 
"When  his  son  [Esplandian]  saw  this  he  leaped  from  his  horse  to  the 
"succor  of  his  father  in  that  dangerous  position.  In  the  mean- 
"while  the  Queen  recovering  herself,  put  her  hand  on  her  sword,  and 
"joined  the  Sultan  notwithstanding  the  extreme  pain  she  suffered 
"from  the  fall,  and  with  her  helmet  on,  and  sword  in  hand,  she  very 
"bravely  renewed  the  assault.  And  Esplandian  standing  in  full 
"view  of  the  adorable  princess,  whom  he  loved  more  than  the 
"Queen,  gave  so  many  hard  blows  to  the  Sultan  who  was  losing  the 
"field,  although  he  was  one  of  the  bravest  among  the  pagans,  and  by 
"his  prowess  had  gained  many  great  battles  from  his  dexterity  in  the 
"arts  of  war,  but  was  now  so  disheartened  because  his  blows  seemed 
"to  have  no  force,  that  he  was  losing  the  battle.  The  Queen  and 
"Amadis  now  confronted  each  other,  and  she  began  to  deal  him  very 
"heavy  blows;  some  he  received  on  his  shield,  others  he  avoided; 
"and  as  he  would  not  put  his  hand  upon  his  sword  he  seized  a  piece 
"of  her  broken  lance  and  struck  her  such  heavy  blows  on  the  hel- 
"met,  that  in  a  short  time  she  was  stunned  and  fell  to  the  ground. 

"When  she  saw  this,  she  exclaimed:  'How  is  it,  Amadis, that  you 
"think  so  little  of  my  courage  that  you  try  to  conquer  me  with  a 
"club?'  And  he  answered:  'Queen,  I  have  always  been  accus- 
"tomed  to  serve  and  succor  women,  but  you  have  taken  up  arms, 
"and  you  deserve  to  lose  everything  you  ever  gained.'  Then  the 
"Queen  said  to  him:  'In  what  relation  do  you  hold  me  ?  Now  take 
"the  consequences.'  And  swinging  her  sword  with  both  hands  she 
"struck  at  him  with  mighty  rage.  Amadis  raised  his  shield,  and  on 
"it  received  the  blow  which  was  given  with  such  terrific  force  that 
"the  shield  was  broken  in  two  pieces,  one  of  which  fell  to  the  ground ; 
"and  when  he  saw  that  she  pressed  him  so  closely,  he  shifted  the 
"broken  lance  to  his  left  hand,  grasped  the  rim  of  her  shield  with  his 
"right,  and  pulled  her  with  so  much  force  that  he  broke  the 
"strong  cords  with  which  it  was  fastened  to  her  arm.  He  tore  it 
"from  her,  and  holding  it  with  one  hand,  he  forced  her  down  with  one 
"knee  upon  the  ground,  from  which  she  rose  so  quickly  that  Amadis 
"had  to  throw  away  his  half  shield,  seize  the  other  part,  and  grasp- 
ing the  club  stood  before  her,  and  demanded:     'Queen,  yield  as  my 


CONVERSION  OF  THE  QUEEN  OF  CALIFORNIA  45 

"prisoner,  now  that  your  Sultan  has  been  conquered. '  She  turned  her 
"head  and  seeing  that  Esplandian  had  subdued  the  Sultan  and  held 
"him  as  his  prisoner,  said:  'I  beg  to  try  my  fortune  once  more.' 
"Then  she  raised  her  sword  with  both  hands  above  her  head,  and 
"attempted  to  strike  the  crest  of  his  helmet,  believing  she  could 
"cleave  his  head  in  two.  But  Amadis  was  very  agile  and  side- 
stepped, so  that  the  blow  was  averted;  then  he  dealt  her,  with  the 
"fragment  of  his  lance,  such  a  vigorous  blow  upon  the  crest  of  her 
"helmet,  that  it  stunned  her,  and  the  sword  fell  from  her  hands. 
"Amadis  seized  it,  and  as  he  saw  her  thus  disabled  he  tugged  at  her 
"helmet  so  viciously  that  he  tore  it  from  her  head,  and  exclaimed, 
"  'will  you  be  my  prisoner  now  ?' 

"  'Yes,'  she  said,  'there  is  nothing  else  for  me  to  do.'  ' 
We  need  not  continue  the  long  drawn  out  story,   except  to    say 
that  at  this  point  Esplandian  brought  the  Sultan  forward,  and   the 
four  combatants  moved  on  to  the  Royal  Encampment. 

The  prisoners  were  given  to  the  Infanta  Leonorina;  Queen  Calafia 
of  California  praised  the  handsome  Esplandian  to  her  face,  and  un- 
blushingly  exalted  that  of  the  Infanta.  Compliments  were  ex- 
changed. Of  course,  Calafia  fell  in  love  with  Esplandian,  but  did 
not  make  it  known.  However,  when  he  was  married  to  the  Infanta 
the  Queen  unburdened  her  heart  to  him  as  the  new  Emperor,  who 
gallantly  gave  her  his  cousin  Talanque  for  a  husband;  and  to  the 
Queen's  sister,  Liota,  Talanque  gave  his  younger  brother,  Maneli. 

After  the  marriage  ceremonies  were  performed  according  to  Chris- 
tian rites,  the  two  fleets  were  joined;  the  Amazons  became  Chris- 
tians; the  Turks  were  beaten;  and  the  fleets  won  much  glory. 

"Reina  Calafia,  mi  buena  amiga,"  transferred  the  island  of  Cali- 
fornia with  all  its  gold  and  precious  stones  to  her  new  allies,  and  it  re- 
mained unmentioned  until  Fernando  Cortes  rediscovered  it  on  this 
western  coast. 


APPENDIX. 

Bernal  Diaz  del  Castillo  was  born  at  Medina  del  Campo  in  old 
Castile,  about  1498,  but  the  date  of  his  death  in  Guatemala  is  not 
known;  it  was  before  1593.  Of  humble  birth,  he  determined  to  try 
his  fortune  in  the  New  World.  As  a  common  soldier  he  served  with 
Cordoba,  and  Grijalva,  and  finally  with  Cortes.  He  was  in  one 
hundred  and  nineteen  battles,  and  present  at  the  siege  and  capture 
of  the  City  of  Mexico  in  1521.  After  returning  from  Honduras  with 
his  chief  he  settled  as  a  planter.  In  1568  he  was  regidor  of  the  city 
of  Guatemala;  and  was  then  engaged  in  writing  his  personal  history. 
After  reading  the  "Cronica  de  la  Nueva  Espana"  ,by  Gomara,  1554, 
he  determined  to  expand  the  scope  of  his  writing  to  the  "Historia 
Verdadera  de  la  Conquista  de  la  Nueva  Espana."  The  manuscript 
remained  in  a  private  library  for  fifty  years,  and  was  finally 
published  in  Madrid  in  1632,  by  Father  Remon,  who  appreciated 
its  value. 

Maurice  Keating  published  an  English  translation  in  London, 
1800;  small  quarto,  514  pages;  but  it  omits  much  of  the  less  impor- 
tant details.  Our  historian  of  Spanish  discoveries  and  exploits  in 
North  and  South  America,  W.  H.  Prescott,  was  charmed  with 
the  inherent  truthfulness  of  Bernal  Diaz.  In  1837  a  "Nueva 
Edicion  Corregida,"  was  published  in  Paris,  in  four  duodecimo 
volumes  containing  1630  pages,  no  authority  given,  only  "Paris, 
Libreria  de  Rosa."  The  latest  translation  is  by  Jose  Maria 
de  Heredia,  (1842-1905),  whose  annotations  gave  him  a  reputa- 
tion for  acute  and  scrupulous  research  and  the  intelligent  applica- 
tion thereof.  He  was  born  at  Fortuna-Cafeyere,  near  Santiago  de 
Cuba,  but  received  his  education  in  France  and  made  Paris  his 
home,  and  acquired  deserved  repute. 


INDEX 


Amadis  de  Gaula,  romance,  Ticknor 
on,  21,  25;  author,  date,  25;  trans- 
lated, 24;  Montalvo's  version.  25; 
Cervantes  on,  26;  known  to^Bernal 
Diaz,  27. 

Amadis  de  Gaula,  character  in  Las 
Sergas  de  Esplandian,  40  ff . 

Amazons,  in  antiquity,  28;  in  Amer- 
ica, 28  f ;  mentioned  by  Columbus, 
29;  Cortes,  28,  30;  on  Dourado's 
map,  29;  on  Guzman's  expedition, 
30;  in  South- America,  31;  in  Es- 
plandian, 35  ff. 

Anian,  Strait  of,  10. 

Arroyo.  Father,  6,  7. 

Baegert,  Father.  5. 
Bancroft,  H.  H.,  7,  17  n. 
Bandelier,  Gilded  Man.  297n. 
Barrow,  Arctic  Voyages,  16  n. 
Beechey,  F.  W.,  Capt.,  6  f. 
Bisselius,  Joannes.  3,  13.  31. 
Borysthenes,  river.  22. 
Burney,  James,  Capt.,  6. 

Cabrillo,  Juan  Rodriguez,  10,  19  f. 

Calafera,  island  in  Esplandian,  34.35. 

Calafia.  queen  of  island  of  California, 
2.  21.  31;  etymology,  34;  invEs- 
plandian,  35  ff. 


Califan,  place  mentioned  in  Amadis, 
34. 

Califeno,    character    in    Esplandian, 

34. 

California,  in  early  authorities,  3  ff, 
17  ff;  on  early  maps,  9  ff;  an  is- 
land, 3,  4,  9,  18;  shown  as  island 
on  maps,  12,  13,  14  f;  inhabited  by 
Amazons,  8,  28,  29,  30;  named 
Islas  Carolinas,  5;  a  peninsula,  3, 
5,  10;  first  believed  peninsula, 
then  island,  5;  a  bay,  8.  17. 

California,  Gulf  of,  3,  19;  Calif orniae 
sinus,  4,  12;  G.  della  Callifornia,  12; 
Sea  of  Cortes,  9;  Vermilion  sea, 
marbermeia,  marrojo,  3,  4,  14,  29; 
mare  Calif  orniae,  13. 

California,  Name,  given  at  discov- 
ery, 5;  by  Cortes,  5,  6,  7,  8,  17,  19; 
in  common  use  about  15S5,  20; 
first  applied  to  bay  or  anchorage, 
then  extended  6,  8,  17,  18;  first  ap- 
pearance on  map,  9;  first  time  in 
print,  17;  variant  spellings  on  early 
maps,  10,  11,  12;  in  plural,  Califor- 
nias,  5,  12;  name  found  in  Esplan- 
dian, Ticknor,  21;  Hale.  22. 

California,  Xame,  Derivation  of.  from 
Caolis,  4;  from  calida  and  fornax, 
5,  6,  7;  rejected  for  several  reasons, 
5,  6;  from  caliente  and  fornalla,  8; 
from  cala  and  fornix,  5:  from  colo- 
fon,    7;    from    Indian    Kali-forno, 


48 


INDEX 


Tchalifalni-al,  7;  missionaries 
found  no  trace  of  name  among  na- 
tives, 5,  6;  from  cal  y  forno,  8; 
from  Kalifat,  8;  name  taken  from 
Esplandian,  21  f;  derived  by  Hale 
from  Calif,  22;  by  G.  D.  from  Greek 
(kalos  and  ornis)  1,  33,  34. 

California,  Point  of,  11,  12,  19. 

California,    First   Vessel   named,  16. 

Cape  (Cabo,  Capo,  C.)  Blanco,  13,  14; 
California  (Callifornia,  Califormia, 
Calitorno)  10.  11,  12;  Engafio,  9; 
de  Fortun,  10;  Mendocino,  10,  19, 
20;  San  Lucas,  3,  5,  11,  12,  14; 
Santa  Clara,  3. 

Carvajal,  Gaspar,  31. 

Castillo,  see  Domingo. 

Catalina  Island,  14. 

Cedros  (Cerros)  Island,  9,  18,  19. 

Cervantes,  26. 

Chino,  Father,  5,  13. 

Christy,   Miller,    11. 

Columbus,  29  f;  32. 

Compoi,  Guiseppe,  5. 

Coronado  Expedition,  lOn  ;  11,  12. 

Cortes,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  17,  18, 19,  28,  30. 

Cortes,  Sea  of,  see  California,  Gulf  of. 

Dahlgren/'.E.  W.,19. 
Dampier's  Voyages,  13. 

Davidson,  George,  Identification  of 
Drake's  Anchorage,  3  n;  Voyages 
on  Northwest  Coast  of  America, 
10  n;  17  n;  19  n. 

De'  Giganti,  island, ~3. 
D'Herbelay,     paraphrased     Esplan- 
dian, L'2. 

Diaz  del  Castillo,  Bernal,  7,  17  f,  27, 

46. 
Domingo  del  Castillo,  9. 
Drake,  Francis,  1 1. 


Dudley,  Robert,  3,  12. 

Elisabat,  Gran  Maestro,  fictitious 
author  of  Esplandian,  33. 

Esplandian,  Las  Sergas  de,  8;  dis- 
cussed by  Ticknor  and  Hale,  21; 
written  by  Montalvo  as  sequel  to 
Amadis,  25,  33;  ridiculed  by  Cer- 
vantes, 26;  pretended  Greek  au- 
thorship, Elisabat,  1,  33;  etymol- 
ogy of  names  in,  33f ;  modern  Span- 
ish edition,  33;  translations  from, 
35  ff. 

Esplandian,  hero  of  romance,  41  ff. 
Estotilandia,  3. 

Farrellones,  river,  4. 
Fernandez    de    Medrano,    Sebastian, 
13,  14.  15. 

Ferrelo,  Bartolome\  10,  19,  20. 

Gayangos,  Pascual  de,  26  n;  33  n. 
Griffins,  31,  34;  in  Esplandian,  36  ff. 
Guzman,  Beltran  de,  30. 

Hakluyt,  11,  20. 

Hale,  Edw.  Everett,  5;  name  Califor- 
nia from  Esplandian,  21;  deriva- 
tion from  Calif,  22. 

Herrera,  Antonio,  10,  18,  19. 
Hittell,  Theo.  H.,  8. 
Hondius,  Iodocus,  11,  12;  Henricus, 
12. 

Horn,  George,  4. 

Islas  Carolinas,  name  applied  to  Cali- 
fornia, 5. 

Jansonio,  Giovanni,  3. 

King  Peak,    10,    19. 
Kino,  Father,  see  Chino. 

League,  Spanish,  length  of,   15. 


INDEX 


49 


Liota,  character  in  Esplandian,  2,  34, 
41,  45;  etymology,  41. 

Lobeira,  Vasco  de,  25. 

Lok,  Michael,  11. 

Lorenzana,  Francisco  Antonio,  9,  29. 

Loreto,  8. 

Magdalena  Bay,  18. 
Marcou,  Jules,  7,   10. 
M.  L.,  of  Fresno,  8. 
Montalvo,  Garcia  Ordonez  de,  8,  25, 
33. 

Montanus,  Arnoldus,  13. 
Munchen  Maps,  12,  29  n. 

Nova  Albion,  11. 

Ortelius,  Abraham,  10. 

Pararos  Island,  14. 

Peter  Martyr,  11. 

Point    (P.,    Punta,    Punctum,     etc.) 

Arena,     10,     19;     Californiae,     11; 

della   Callifornia,    12;    Concepcion; 

S.  Apolline,  14;  of  California,  19. 

Preciado,  Francisco,  17,  18. 
Ramusio,  Giovanni  Battista,  17  n. 

San  Abad,  bay,  18; 
San  Clement,  island,   14. 


San  Jose"  del  Cabo,  12. 
San  Lucas,  port,  19.     (See  also  under 
Cape.) 

San  Miguel,  island,   10,   19. 
Sandoval,  Gonzales,  8,  28,  30. 
Santa  Barbara  Channel,  10,  14,  19. 
Santa  Cruz,  Alonzo  de,  9. 
Santa  Cruz,  island,  17;  port,  19. 
Santa  Marina,  bay,  18. 
Silver  Map  of  the  World,    11. 
Slevin,  Thomas  E.,  7. 
Southey,    Robert,    translated   Ama- 
dis,  24. 

Sutil  y  Mexicana  expedition,  12. 

Terrestrial  Paradise,   32. 

Ticknor,  George,  first  notice  of  Cali- 
fornia in  Esplandian,  21;  on  Ro- 
mances, 24;  on  Esplandian,  21;  on 
Amadis,  25, 

Ulloa,  Francisco,  5,  8,  9,  17,  18,  19. 

Venegas,  Miguel,  5,  6,  29  n. 
Vermilion  Sea,  see  California,  gulf  of. 
Villa-Manrique,  Marquis,  20. 
Vizcaino,  Sebastian,  12  . 

Winship,  George  Parker,  10  n. 
Wytfliet,  12. 


50 


EXPLANATORY  NOTE. 


A  copy  of  the  title  page  of  the  1587  edition  of  Las  Sergas  de 
Esplandian  has  been  attached  to  this  paper  to  show  the  size  of 
the  book  and  the  style  of  announcement.  A  few  years  since  I 
obtained  the  negative  from  the  copy  of  the  volume  in  the  Boston 
Public  Library. 

Failing  eyesight  has  prevented  my  reading  the  foregoing  paper 
to  check  errors. 

To  Professor  E.  G.  Linsley  of  the  University  of  California  I  am 
deeply  indebted  for  his  kindness  in  collating  my  notes  of  the 
Chart  of  1541. 

To  Mr.  Hugh  Jeidell  of  San  Francisco  my  thanks  are  due  for 
his  reading  the  last  proof. 

GEORGE  DAVIDSON 
San  Francisco,  Cal.,  May  9th,  1910. 


F.   F.   PARTRIDGE  Print.    136   Leidciorfi  St..   San   Francisco 


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